Anesthesia Archives - Page 5 of 9 - Surgical Serenity Solutions

Surgical Serenity Headphones: Wireless or Cordless?

When people contact me about helping them use music during surgery, my first recommendation is always the pre-programmed, cordless headphones I have created. When I first had the idea to create cordless, pre-programmed headphones, back in 2005, the term “wireless” was not nearly as associated with “wireless network” as it is now.

My intention was to have headphones that were entirely “self-contained” and not dependent on being tethered to an iPod or any other transmittal device. I just figured that it would be one less thing for surgeons and anesthesiologists to worry about getting tangled up with their equipment!

I called them “wireless” at that time, but now I think it is important to confirm that they are indeed “cordless” but are not what today we call “wireless.” This is quite an important differentiation too, because transmitting a signal in the OR would involve FCC communication and just throw another stumbling block up to people and hospitals that are contemplating using them in the OR.

Please let me know what your questions might be! We certainly are hearing from hundreds of satisfied customers around the world about their effectiveness in calming the patient before surgery, and reassuring them when they wake up in surgery with beautiful music still playing!

By DrAlice|October 9, 2011|Anesthesia, Common Fears in Surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures|1 Comment

Surgery with Music Series Post #30: A Recap of why music is so important for your surgery

If you’ve been reading this 30-day series of posts of music with surgery, and you’re still not convinced of music’s power during surgery, I just don’t know what to tell you. People all over the world, both patients and medical staff including surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists and techs of all kinds are recommending the use of music before, during and after surgery. There are absolutely no drawbacks or side-effects and so many benefits that the choice is clear.

If you have the ability to make your own playlist, that’s great! If you have enough lead time to do it, I think it’s a great idea. I did it for myself back in 1994 when I had a lumbar laminectomy. The doctors were astounded at how well everything went and how quickly I recovered. I did it for my mother’s heart bypass in the early 90’s and after quite a bit of skepticism initially, she had such a positive experience that she said she would never again have surgery without music and headphones.

I have been helping patients to use music during their surgery since late 1990 when I began reading about the work of well-known music therapist, Helen Bonny. I would usually mention her work when I went out speaking at hospitals and universities and associations. Invariably, someone would say “Dr. Cash, I don’t believe that many people at all know about this music and surgery idea. I think you should really try to get the word out!

After that, the rest is history. I have worked with thousands of patients around the world and in 2008 I got a patent on my Surgical Serenity Headphones. Although you can purchase them online at www.surgicalheadphones.com, my main goal is to get them into hospitals around the world so that they are ready to go when a patient arrives for surgery. They would be told about the process of wearing the headphones upon arrival at the hospital and would be issued a set of headphones that would then be theirs to keep, eliminating the risk of infection from previous users.

If you are associated with a full-service hospital, please check out the headphones and the documented benefits. Using the headphones can greatly reduce the amount of drugs and anesthesia required and create a calmer more peaceful atmosphere for the patient. As a result of less anesthesia, the patient will recover faster and get back to work sooner and with less trauma. Every doctor or nurse that I have ever talked to about these has said it is a great idea and that they will be standard equipment in all operating rooms one day! Please join me in making this dream come true.

By DrAlice|July 1, 2011|Anesthesia, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures, Music and Anesthesia, Music in the hospitals, Surgical Headphones reviews|1 Comment

Surgery with Music Series Post #27: Can you make your own surgery playlist?

Of course you can! If you have enough lead time for your surgery or other medical procedure, and if you understand what the best kind of music is, you absolutely can make your own playlist.

I believe that the cordless headphones are best though, because they can’t become entangled with any other hospital equipment and are not emitting a signal that could interfere with other medical equipment in the OR, ICU, Emergency Room or other area of the hospital.

So what are the advantages of ordering the Surgical Serenity Headphones? The two biggest are conveniences are…they are ready to go and can be shipped to you overnight if necessary; they have already been programmed for you by a clinical musicologist who has been working in this area for over 20 years!

The music that I have chosen is based on my work with hundreds of surgery patients and surgical procedure of all kinds. I am also a psychotherapist, so I understand the extreme anxiety and emotional angst that people go through when they are told that they need surgery. This music is the absolutely most soothing and calming music that I’ve come across and it doesn’t matter so much what your usual taste in music might be. This music seems to calm everyone that has heard it and it will work for you too.

If you want to make your own playlist, have the time to do it, and can find cordless headphones, that’s also great! Please let me know what your questions might be! Best wishes and good health to you always!

By DrAlice|June 28, 2011|Anesthesia, Characteristics of music for surgery, Common Fears in Surgery, Headphones for other medical procedures|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #26: What the news media says

Our series of 30 posts on Music with Surgery is rapidly drawing to an end. I thought that perhaps my readers would like to know what some of the major news media have to say about the whole idea. They tend to be critical of such new ideas, but take a look at today’s source: www.livescience.com

“A new study by the Yale School of Medicine confirms previous work showing that surgery patients listening to music require much less sedation.

Previous studies left open the question of whether it was music that did the trick, or just the act of blocking out the sound of dropped surgical instruments and other operating room noise.

In the new study, researchers tested 90 surgery patients at two facilities. Some wore headphones and listened to the music of their choice. Others heard white noise, that hiss and hum common to office buildings that’s designed to drown out harsh noises. Others had no headphones.

Blocking sounds with white noise did not decrease sedative requirements, the study found, music did.”

“Doctors and patients should both note that music can be used to supplement sedation in the operating room,” said study team member Zeev Kain, a Yale professor in the Department of Anesthesiology.

The results are detailed in the May issue of the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia.

By DrAlice|June 27, 2011|Anesthesia, Common Fears in Surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Recent Research on Surgery with Music|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #23: Entrainment in Surgery

Drs. Friedman and Cash at CCF

To put it as simply as possible, entrainment in surgery is all about synchronizing. The slow, steady tempo of the music entrains with the patient’s heartbeat and breathing. Mostly we hear about rhythmic entrainment and brainwave entrainment. When talking about music during surgery, both of the these types of entrainment are tapped. The power of this during surgery comes from the slow, steady pulse of the music coming through the headphones. In this instance, the synchronization begins when the patient can hear the music and feel the relaxation. As they go into deeper states of “sleep” the vibrations of the slow, steady music keep the heartbeat and breathing entrained or synchronized with the pulse of the music.

The more relaxed the body is during surgery, the less anxiety medication, pain medication and even less anesthesia is required. The less medication the patient requires, the safer the procedure will be and the faster the patient will recover. It’s so easy and so logical, that it has been overlooked for many, many decades. Now people are beginning to understand how entrainment works and tap into the power of musical entrainment.

Rhythmic entrainment is a core principle of music therapy. Many years ago I was introduced to the concepts of music therapy and began to realize that this was so powerful and yet so simple. It’s the same phenomenon that makes people clap their hands to music, or sway gently, tap their toes or fingers. When listening to many kinds of music, the urge to entrain is almost irresistible! For many years I thought about all of the many ways the power of rhythmic entrainment might be harnessed for medical benefits. When I finally decided to create a surgical playlist that would induce this phenomenon, I knew that I had come up with an idea that could really make a big contribution to health and healing.

Will you be next?

By DrAlice|June 24, 2011|Anesthesia, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, How music works, Rhythmic entrainment|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #21: Is there scientific research on benefits of music with surgery?

Another great question that was sent in by a reader. The short answer is “YES.” There is so much research on the use of music before and after surgery that I can not list all the studies here. You may remember that I spoke at the Cleveland Clinic Florida about recent research in music with surgery and there I had chosen the most recent 15 or so studies from over the past decade.

The highlights of this research can be found HERE. You will see that studies have been done not only at well-known institutions such as Yale University, but also from around the world. Most of the studies focus on music before and after surgery, but increasingly, research is now being conducted on music during surgery. Currently out surgery headphones are the focus of a medical study at the VA Hospital here in Louisville, KY and results should be available by the end of this year.

There are so many documented benefits of music surrounding surgery and other medical procedures. Do you want to take less anxiety medication before, less anesthesia during, and less pain medication afterwards? Do you want to recover faster and side-step the effects of so many medications? Do you want to avoid the “brain fog” that often hangs on for weeks and weeks after surgery? Then go HERE and order your surgery headphones!

By DrAlice|June 22, 2011|Anesthesia, Common Fears in Surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures, Surgery Music|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #18: Do any hospitals have headphones waiting for patients?

This is my goal: that every hospital, clinic and medical center in the world have the Surgical Serenity Headphones or some equivalent waiting and ready for their patients. The research is there…music before, during and after surgery help the patients in ways that can be measured as well as in ways that can’t be measured. The picture on the left was taken at the Cleveland Clinic in Florida just a few months ago. I was flown in to give a Grand Rounds lecture to the entire staff of physicians and residents and they had double the usual crowd there. Dr. Friedman, Chief of Surgery, said that everyone there is so enthusiastic about this and they hope to start a research study there in the next few months! They already have some of the headphones that they are using.

The Cleveland Clinic in Ohio is using some right now as is the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. The VA hospital in Louisville, KY is doing a formal study on our Surgical Serenity Headphones and another hospital in Louisville is using them. For the most part, they are currently being bought by individuals around the country, in Canada and in Western Europe.

If you are having surgery soon, they can be shipped overnight to you! Otherwise they arrive in 3-4 days. If you are a surgeon, anesthesiologist or hospital staff or administration, please contact me for pricing information. I want everyone to have these available for their patients and the reviews are excellent.

By DrAlice|June 18, 2011|Anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures, Music in the hospitals, Surgical Headphones reviews|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #17: What music should you listen to during surgery?

When you’re about to have surgery, you really don’t have time to think about much else except preparing yourself for that process and the potential outcomes, good or bad. The only possible exception to that might be cosmetic surgery where you have plenty of lead time and you feel sure that the outcome will be better that what you’re living with right now.

That’s why I think it’s nice to be able to have the music already pre-programmed on the cordless headphones. Also, to know that the music has been chosen by an expert in music for surgery, so that the tempo, melodies, and character of the music is the ideal for surgery.

What about the genre of music? What about classical, jazz, pop, sacred, world music, or just easy listening? I believe that any genre of music can be healing and can be soothing and comforting in the way that you want for surgery. The fact is though, if you’re having general anesthesia, you won’t even hear the music once you’re completely under the anesthesia.

So why have music playing while you’re under general anesthesia? Good question! And here is the answer: the music that has been chosen for your surgery has a very slow, steady pulse that will entrain or synchronize your heart-beat and breathing with the tempo of the music. This is done vibrationally and makes headphones the ideal way to transmit the vibrations through the 8th cranial nerve in the ear to the brain and throughout the entire body.

One of the guiding principles of music therapy is that the patient should have the music of their choice, but this is not traditional music therapy because no music therapy is present. The music has already been chosen and the genre right now is classical. Eventually we will have jazz, folk, sacred and other genres available but people who don’t typically listen to classical music have listened to this soundtrack and said that it relaxed them quickly and totally.

It’s all about a safer surgery procedure and a faster recovery. Check them out at www.surgicalheadphones.com

By DrAlice|June 18, 2011|Anesthesia, Characteristics of music for surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures, Music|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #16: Headphones vs Earbuds

If you’re to be going through surgery of any kind, or dental work, or chemotherapy or kidney dialysis, etc., then you need to understand the benefits of headphones vs earbuds. Everyone’s ear is a little bit different externally and internally and there is just no one that one size and type of earbud can fit everyone. On myself, earbuds constantly fall out. I wore them at the fitness center for years and I was constantly needed to re-insert them because they had fallen out.

With headphones, not only do they gently cover the entire ear, but you can adjust the volume so that you can comfortably and effectively hear the music, but it’s enough to block external conversations that you don’t want to hear. If the doctor does need to say something to you or ask you a question, he can move in toward you just a little bit and direct a question to you and you can easily hear him!

Not only that, but our headphones are cordless and so there’s nothing to get tangled up with medical or dental equipment! Earbuds have a cord that hangs down and connects to you iPod or other MP3 music device. When you weigh the pros and cons of each, I think you’ll want to use headphones. Let me know your questions?

By DrAlice|June 17, 2011|Anesthesia, Common Fears in Surgery, Headphones for other medical procedures, Surgical Headphones reviews|0 Comments

Surgery with Music Series Post #15: Talking with your Surgeon about Using Music

Today many surgeons and anesthesiologists are aware of the benefits of music before, during and after the surgical procedure. But occasionally, a patient comes to me or calls me saying that their surgeon doesn’t like the idea? Why? Usually because the surgeon has not read all of the latest research on the the many benefits that music brings to the situation. Some surgeons don’t understand the concept of entrainment, whereby the vibration of the music causes your heart and breathing to slow down and synchronize with the music. Even after your ears cease to hear the music through the headphones, the vibrations of this music cause your inner rhythms of heartbeat and music to synchronize with that tempo and all with the mood of the music which is peaceful and serene. For that reason, it really doesn’t even matter if you like classical music or not because when you are deeply “asleep” under the anesthesia, you won’t even hear the music as music!

I’ve actually written a free report entitled “How to Talk with Your Doctor About Using Music with your Surgery.” Just click on this link to get it for free! Don’t miss out on this important step of the process!

By DrAlice|June 15, 2011|Anesthesia, Characteristics of music for surgery, Common Fears in Surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Headphones for other medical procedures, How music works, Surgery Music|2 Comments