As they're wheeled into the operating room, some patients may be
seeingtranquil shores instead of scrubs and scalpels. That's if they're
engaging in guided imagery, a technique that one study has shown makes
surgery easier, if not quite a walk on the beach.
The study, published in the Association of Operating Room Nurses
Journal, assigned 130 abdominal-surgery patients to one of two groups.
Both groups received routine preoperative care, but only one listened to
guided imagery tapes (produced by Health Journeys) for three days before
and six days after surgery.
With a background of soothing music, the tapes instructed patients
to fantasize that they were in calm, beautiful surroundings with someone
they loved beside them. They were encouraged to confront fears they might
have about the surgery, and to imagine themselves in the operating room
itself, undergoing the procedure with little pain or upset. "It's like a
directed, deliberate daydream," says lead researcher Diane Tusek, R.N.,
of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
The results of these flights of fancy were assuredly real: patients
who used the tapes were much less anxious and distressed, and reported
far less physical pain--so much less, in fact, that they required almost
half as much pain medication as the control group. Besides making the
surgery a more pleasant experience, these effects may have real health
benefits: excessive pain can prolong postoperative recovery time and slow
down the immune system, and stress can heighten susceptibility to
infection.
It's all in the attitude, says Tusek. "People who approach surgery
with a sense of control fare much better than patients who feel anxious
or overwhelmed."
A.M.P.
PHOTO (COLOR): Beautiful surrounding
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