What Can Acupuncture Treat? Anesthesia during Surgery

Acupuncture anaesthesia, Shanghai, 1977 by Quarrion (David)

Using acupuncture in addition to or instead of anesthesia during surgery is an idea that is nearly unthinkable here in the west. That being said, electroacupuncture is often used in China as surgical anesthesia, as the stimulation is often stronger and easy to adjust the strength of the current. The points that are used are often specific to whatever surgery is being done.

Patients who use this method instead of going under general anesthesia often have an easier recovery, which means less nausea and vomiting, no lack of lucidity, and much less drowsiness. It's important that the patient be familiar with acupuncture, and also aware of any possible problems, as they will be awake during the surgery. I think the drug-free method of surgical procedures is a great idea, and a teacher of mine at OCOM took part in an acupuncture anesthesia a few years ago at OHSU.

Roger Lore, DAOM assisted with breast reconstruction surgery for a patient who had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. He describes the mood of the patient during the surgery as well has her quick recovery. He describes how the patient was lucid throughout the procedure, and that she was able to get off of the surgery table by herself after the procedure was finished. When the surgery took place at the Oregon Health Sciences University, acupuncture points were used on the arms, feet, scalp, and ears. The patient reported feeling some pain during the surgery, but refused any chemical anesthesia. She was very happy with the procedure, and felt much better than after surgeries where general anesthesia had been used.

You can read the article written by  Dr. Roger Lore online at www.scalpacupuncture.org (scroll down to #6). For another great article that goes into more detail about the use of acupuncture anesthesia in China, check out www.gancao.net.

NOTE: If you want to see a video of a Cesarean section performed while the patient is only under acupuncture anesthesia, check out this link (it's not in English, by the way). WARNING! It is a graphic video of a Cesarean birth - if you are at all queasy with blood, body fluids, or birth, then stop the video at 5:15. If not, it's pretty cool...

East Meets West in Portland Hospitals

Having finished finals (my apologies for the month delay in blogging), and most of my intern sites, I'm a little sad that my time as an acupuncture intern at OHSU is over. Perhaps it was the excitement of working in a "real" hospital. Or maybe it was the respect garnered by friends and family when I told them that I had an intern shift on the new OHUS South Waterfront tower.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the integration of Eastern and Western medicine is really coming up, albeit slowly, and that we are on the forefront of it all. I understand that I was working in an integrative medicine department, but it was really incredible to see interesting cases where acupuncture worked it's magic, even if it wasn't in a dimly lit, soothing atmosphere, but a cold, stark white room on an exam table. Last week we were asked to assist Dr. Lu in giving sample treatments to residents up on the hill, and it was really great to see how interested they were not only in receiving treatments, but also referring patients to the integrative medicine practitioners.

There are several practitioners at hospitals around Portland, such as Dr. Zhaoxue Lu, at the OHSU waterfront and Dr. Yupeng Luo, and Roger Lore, DAOM at the Richmond center. All of these practitioners also have private practices at OCOM. Dr. Lu was the practitioner I worked with this term, and he works at OHSU in the Family medicine department three days per week. There are also other physicians at OHSU who integrate acupuncture in to their treatments on a regular basis.

I know that the idea of integrating acupuncture and western biomedicine is still a foreign idea to some health care practitioners. However, I feel fortunate to have chosen this medicine and to be a part of the integration of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in Oregon. I hope to one day be able to work in a hospital setting again, whether it's in-patient care, assisting with deliveries, or simply providing the best possible care in a hospital setting.

Powered by ScribeFire.