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Sept. 21, 2000 -- Complementary or alternative medicine, which looks beyond mainstream means to heal illness and promote health, is having a major impact on virtually all fields of medicine except surgery. However, many complementary medicine techniques have a potential role to play in easing the pain and discomfort of surgery. In this second part of a two-part series, the role of acupuncture, therapeutic touch/Reiki, and massage, as well as herbs and supplements in surgery, are explored.
Judith J. Petry, MD, author of a review article on alternative medicine and surgery, tells WebMD those patients interested in and willing to try complementary medicine can benefit from it tremendously around the time of surgery. Petry, whose article is published in the September issue of Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, is medical director of the Vermont Healing Tools Project in Brattleboro, Vt.
"[This article is] timely and addresses a major aspect of health care that has been overlooked or not yet penetrated by complementary medicine," John S. Foster, MD, FACEP, who was not involved in the study, tells WebMD.
"It's really just returning to real medicine, to being healers and physicians first. ... The nurses used to give that supportive, human care," he says. "Unfortunately, we've turned nurses into imitation doctors because the complexity of modern medicine has made them have to compete. ... We've lost a whole niche in high-tech medicine, which is healing." Foster is the associate director of the Center for Integrative Medicine of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
Some of the techniques that can be used in conjunction with surgery include:
Acupuncture: Many people are spooked by the idea of being poked with needles, but some studies show that acupuncture may decrease the nausea, vomiting, and pain often experienced after surgery. Only experienced people must perform it, however, since acupuncture can alter blood flow, which is not always desirable right after surgery.
Foster as well as Michael Janson, MD, past president of the American Preventive Medicine Association, tell WebMD that use of acupuncture during surgery can reduce or even eliminate the need for anesthesia, although no one in the U.S. is familiar enough with the technique yet to use it for this purpose.
Currently, acupuncture is not widely available in hospitals for surgery patients because of the problems of paying and coordinating an acupuncturist in a surgical unit. However, if patient demand for such a service increases, more hospitals may offer it.
Therapeutic Touch/Reiki and Massage: All of these involve touching or bringing the hands close to a person's body in order to alter their energy for the purposes of healing. Currently, there is no good scientific support for Reiki and very little for therapeutic touch. Preliminary evidence shows that massage can affect the hormonal and immune system. It is clear, however, that all these techniques relax people tremendously, which offers its own healing benefits.
Herbs/Supplements: Go to almost any health food store or pharmacy today and you'll see several rows or even aisles of herbs and supplements. While some enhance the healing response, others interfere with medical treatment and may even prove dangerous when taken around the time of surgery. For instance, L-arginine and glutamine supplements appear to promote healing, while ginkgo, ginger, and other herbs increase the risk of excess bleeding after surgery. The only way to be safe is to tell your doctor what you are taking and ask advice about what to stop or start taking before surgery.
Complementary medicine is definitely gaining popularity among consumers and will continue to grow along with patient demand, according to experts such as Janson and Foster.
"There's no question it's going to grow," says Janson, who has also authored several books. "The public demand for it is enormous. Medical education is changing so that more and more medical centers are including some form of alternative therapy in their training of doctors. The support is growing dramatically."
As new and exciting alternative therapies become available, it is extremely important that open discussions take place between patients and their doctors on the topic. Patients should never replace or combine a therapy prescribed by a doctor with complementary medicine without the doctor's approval. As alternative medicine continues to be studied, expect physicians to be more and more knowledgeable about what's available.