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 If you’ve just found you need surgery, or if you’ve decided to have an elective procedure, you still have fears and anxiety.  Everyone does if they’re honest with themselves:

  • What if something goes wrong?
  • What if I wake up in the middle of the procedure?
  • What if I don’t wake up at all?!

In the vast majority of surgeries, nothing goes wrong.  Surgery happens all over the world, every day.  But when things go wrong, whether it’s leaving the sponge inside the patient’s body, taking off the wrong leg, or breast, or hand, it’s extremely traumatic.

I was always taught that knowledge is power, so if you’re planning to have surgery, you need to get information and do everything you reasonably can to assure a successful procedure.   One of the easiest things you can do is to listen to music before, during and after your surgery or other medical procedure.

  1. If you have enough time and know-how, you can begin choosing some of your favorite relaxing, comforting music to listen to, initially for an hour each day before the surgery, while lying down so that you can practice relaxing when you hear that self-chosen music.
  2. You can talk to your surgeon in advance of the surgery and download your chosen music to your iPod or other MP3 player.  If s/he approves the plan, you can take it to the hospital the day of the surgery and begin listening as soon as you get there, and continue all the way through recovery.  There is ample research documenting the benefits of this, including reduced anxiety meds, anesthesia, and pain medication afterwards.
  3. If you don’t have time, know-how, or willingness to do these things, you can buy pre-programmed headphones that already have the slow, steady, soothing music that researchers believe will keep your heart-beat and respiration steady and decrease the amount of anesthesia and pain medication you will need.

If I can help you in any way, feel free to contact me via a comment on this blog.  Best wishes for a successful procedure!

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