Minilaparotomy under acupuncture analgesia
Dias, P.L.; Subramanium, S.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine 77(4): 295-298
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0141-0768 PMID: 6716381 DOI: 10.1177/014107688407700408Document Number: 401256
Minilaparotomy was performed using acupuncture analgesia on 78 female patients seeking voluntary sterilization to determine whether this could be used as a substitute for standard analgesic sedation. In 48 women (62%) no intravenous drug medication was required, and sterilization was successfully performed using only the local anaesthetic and acupuncture electrostimulation. These patients could be discharged within one hour of operation. For a developing country with a shortage of trained anaesthetists, acupuncture analgesia could prove to be a simple, safe and economical method, especially in a rural setting.