ABSTRACT

The use of hypnosis as the sole anesthetic in major surgery is quite rare, probably because of the relative safety and convenience of chemical anesthetics. Hypnosis has been used infrequently for this purpose with adults (Hammond, 2008; Kroger & DeLee, 1957; Levitan & Harbaugh, 1992; Rausch, 1980; Wangensteen, 1962; Winkelstein & Levinson, 1959) (see also Chapter 10). We know of no similar published accounts with children since the 19th-century work of Braid and Elliotson in England.