Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-05-16
MESMERIziNG PATIENTS.
HOW OPERATIONS ARE PERFORMED WITH
OUT PAIN OR ANESTHETICS.

| HOW OPERATIONS ARE PERFORMED WITH
OUT PAIN OR ANEsTHETIcs.
From the Scotsman
A number of the leading medical men and
dentists of Leeds (England) and district
were brought together on March 2Sth
through the kind invitationissuedb by dental
surgeons of Leeds, to witness series OF sur
gical and dental operations performed in
their rooms under the hyponotic influence
induced by DIR. Milne Bramwell of Goole,
Yorkshire. Great interest was evinced in
the meeting, as it was we'll known that Dr..
Bramwell is quite a master OF the art OF
hypnotism as applied to medicine and sur
gerry, and is shortly to publish work OF
considerable importance on the subject.
Upwards of sixty medical men and dental
surgeons accepted the invitation. The object
Of the meeting was to show the power of
hypnotism to produce absolute an3sthesia
in very painful and severe operations.
The first case brought into the room was
woman of twenty-five. She was hypno--
tised at word by Dr.. Bramwell, and told
she was to submit to three teeth being eX-
T. Carter. and further, that she was to d
anything that Mr.. Garter asked her to d
(such as to open her mouth and spit out, and
the like) as he required her. This was per-
fectly 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 the gums, nor had she felt the operation.
DR. Bramwell then hypnotised her, and or
dered her to leave the room and 60 upstairs
to the waiting-room. This she did as a
complete somnambu&st.
The next case was that of a servant girl,
aged nineteen, on whom, under the hypn
tic influence induced by Dr. BramweIl,
large lachrymal abscess, extending into
the cheek, had fortnight previously been
opened and scraped freely, without knowl-
edge OF pain. Furthermore, the dressing
had been daily performed and the cavity
freely syringed out under hypnotic anses-
thesia, the ''healing suggestions being
DR.. Bramwell in great measure attri-
butes the very rapid healing, which took
place i'll ten days-a remarkable short
Space of time in a girl in by no means
good state of health. She was put to sleep
by the following letter from Dr.. Bram-
we'll, addressed to Mr.. Turner, the oper-
ating dentist in the case:
BURLINGTON CRESCENT, GooLE, YORK.
Dear lMr. 7atr71er-I send you a patient
with enclosed order. When you give it her,
she will fall asleep at once and obey your
commands. Signed, j. MILNE BRALwELL.' -
go to sleep by order Of Dr.. Bramwell,
and obey MI. Turner's commands. 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 remarkable, there was no pain
| in her mouth She was found after some
time, when unobserved, reading the Graph
ic in the waiting room as if nothing had
happened. Duringthe whole time she did
everything which Mr.. Turner suggested,
but it was observed that there was di-
minished flow of saliva, and that the COZ
neal retlexes were absent. the breathing
was more noisy than ordinary, and the
pulse slower. DR.. Bramwell took occa-
sion to explain that the next case, a boy
of eight, was severe test, and would not
probably succeed, partly because the pa
tient was so young, and chiefly because he
had not attempted to produce hypnotic
anasthesia earlier than two days before.
He also explained that patients require
training in this form of anaesthesia, the
time of training or preparation varying
with each individual. However, he was
so far hynotised that he allowed Mr.. Mayo
Robson to operate on the great toe, remov-
| ing bony growth and part OF the first
phalanX, with no more than a few cries
| towards the close of the operation, and
with the result that when questioned after
wards he appeared to know very little of
what had been done. 1t was necessary in
his case for Dr.. Bramwell to repeat the
hypnotic suggestions. DR.. BramWell re-
marked that he wished to show case that
was less likely to be perfectly successful
| than the others, SO as to enable those pres
ent to see the difficult as we'll as the appar-
emily easy, straightforward cases.
The next case was girl of fifteen, high
| ly sensitive, requiring the removal of en-
larged tonsils. At the request of DR..
Bramwell, Mr.. Bendelack Hewetson was
enabled, while the patient was in the hyp-
ctr To 10 OF nc J, q
the girl, by suggestion OF the hypnotiser,
obeying every request of the operator,
though in a state OF perfect anRStheSla. In
the same way Mr.. Hewetson removed a
cyst OF the size of horSe-bean from the
side of the nose of young woman who
was perfectly anesthetic, breathing deep
ly, and who, on coming round by order
protested 'sthat the operation had not been
commenced"
Mr. Turner then extracted two largemO-
!, lar teeth from man with equal success
after which Dr.. Bramwell explained how
his patient had been completely cured Of
drunkenness by hypnotic suggestion. IL
prove this to those present and to show the
Interesting psychological results, the man
was hypnotised, and in that state he was
shown a glass OF water. which he was tOlC
by Dr.. Bramwell was ''bad beer" He was
then told to awake, and the glass of watel
ESQ called bad beer) was offered him by
LII. bIdlll we'll. he put III W Ills lips anu
at once spat out the offensive liquid.
Other interesting phenomena were illus
trated and explained by means OF this pa
tient, who was a hale, strong working
man.
MI Tom Carter next extracted very
difficult impacted stump from railway
navy as successfully as the previous case
Dr. Bramwell described how this man had
been completely cured of very obstinate
facial neuralgia by hypotism. The malady
had been produced by working in a wet
cutting, and had previously defied all
medical treatment. On the third day OF
| hypotism the neuralgia had entirely dis
appeared (weeks ago., and had not return
ed. The man had obtained also refreshing
| hYnotic sleep at night, being put to SLEEP
| by his daughter through a note from Dr..
| Bran we'll, and on one occasion by a
telegram, both methods succeeding per-
fectly.
| At the conclusion of this most interest
| ing and successful series of hypnotic eX-
periments, vote of thanks to DR.. Bran
we'll for his kindness in giving the demon
stration was proposed by MI. Scattergood,
Dean of the Yorkshire College, and sec
onded by Mr.. Pridgin Teale, F. r. S., who
remarked, ''that the experiments were
deeply interesting, and had been marvel
ously successful" and said II feel sure
that the time has now come when we shall