The Delta independent., 1890-06-24
AS AN ANEsrHEric.
The Pain OF Surgical Operations
Lost Under Hypno otism.

Lost Under Hypnotism.
Tho British Medical journal prints
a long account of proceedings the other
day at the rooms Of MessrA Carter
Bros. & Turner. dental surgeons.
Leeds, where upward Of sixty Of the
leading medical men and dentists of tho
district witnessed series OF surgical
and dental operations performed under
hypnotic influence induced by DR..
Milne Bramwell, of Goole, Yorkshire.
who is described as quite master of
the art Of hypnotism as applied to
medicine and surgery. The object OF
the meeting, says local correspond
ent of our contemporary, was to show
the power OF hypnotism to produce
absolute anasthesia in very painful
and severe operations.
A woman. aged twenty-five. was
hypnotized at word from DR.. Bram-
we'll She was told she was to submit
to three teeth being extracted, without
pain, at the hands Of Thomas Carter;
and further that she was to do any
thing that Mr.. Carter asked her to do.
This was perfectly successful. There
was no expression Of pain In the face,
no cry, and when told to awake she
said she had not the least pain In tho
gums, nor had che felt the operation.
DR.. Bramwell then hypnotized her and
ordered her to leave the room and go
up stairs to the waiting-room. This
she did as complete somnambulist-
The next case was that of 3 servant
girl, M. A. w.. aged nineteen, on
whom, under the hypnotic influence
induced by DIR. Bramwell. Mr.. Hewet-
son had a fortnight previously opened
and scraped freely. without knowledge
or pain, large lachrymal abscess
extending into the check. Further
more the dressing had been daily per-
formed and the cavity freely syringed
under hypnotic an@sthesia ''the
healing suggestions" being daily given
to the patient to which DR.. Bramwell
in great measure attributes the very
rapid healing, which took place in
ten days-a remarkably short space
Of time in q girl by no means in q
good state Of health. She was put to
sleep by the following letter from DR..
Bramwell addressed to Mr.. Turner:
Burlington Crescent. Goole. Yorks.
Dear Mr.. Turner:-I send you a pa
tient with inclosed order. When you
give 1t her she will fall asleep at
once and obey your commands. ].
Milne Bramwell." Order: "Go to
sleep at once, by order OF Dr. Bram-
well. and obey Mr.. Turner's CON-
mands. J. Milne Bramwell." This
experiment answered perfectly. Sleep
was induced at once by reading the
note. and was so profound that at the
end OF lengthy operation. in which
sixteen stumps were removed. she
awoke smiling, and insisted that she
had felt no pain. and, what was re-
markable, there was no pain In her
mouth. She was found after some
time. when unobserved. reading the
Graphic in the waiting-room as II
nothing had happened. During the
whole time she did everything which
Mr.. Turner suggested. but it was no.
ticed that there was diminished dow
OF saliva, and that the corneal refexes
were absent the breathing more noisy
than ordinarily, and the pulse slower.
The next case was girl Is. highly
sensitive requiring the removal Of en-
larged tonsils. At the request Of DR..
Bramwell, Hewetson was enabled in
the hypnotic state to extract each tom
sill with ease, the girl by the suRges-
tion of the hypnotizer. obeying the re-
quest Of the operator. though in state
OF perfect an@sthesia- In tho same
way DR.. Hewetson removed cyst Of
the size OF a horse bean, from the side
of the nose Of young woman who was
perfectly anasthe tized and breath
ing deeply, and who, on coming
round by order, protested that the
operation had not been commenced"
MIR. Turner then extracted two teeth
from man with equal success, after
which Dr. Bramwell explained how his
patient had been completely cured Of
by hypnotic suggestion.
To prove this to those present, and to
show the interesting psychological re-
suits, the MN was hypnotized. and In
that state he was shown a glass Of
water; he was told by DR.. Bramwell 1t
was ..bad beer" He was then told TO
awake, and the glass OF water offered
him by DR.. Bramwell; he put it to his
lips. and at once spat out the "off en-
sive liquid" Other interesting phe-
nomena were illustrated and explained
by means Of this patient, who was
hale, strong work ingman.
An Explanation.
Two young men graduated from .
well-known medical achool and both