Fear of Surgery: is it holding you back?

Let me start by saying: fear of surgery is not unusual! Nor is it wrong, or silly, or stupid. Actually, I think that someone who had just been told they need surgery, would be foolish simply to accept that blindly. I’ve had surgery numerous times, unfortunately, but obviously I survived!

No one wants their body to be cut on! Nobody in their right mind, but sometimes, the doctor needs to go in and repair something, remove something, or perhaps, just improve it. In that case, you’re going to need to have surgery.

I’m a great believer in educating yourself and now that we have Google and Bing and other search engines, you can quickly get lots of quality information on most any subject imaginable. Many people take the ostrich approach and bury their heads in the sand, thinking that if they can just ignore their physical problem it will go away…but it never does!

What if you could be reassured enough to go ahead and have your surgery done and put it behind you? Many people neglect their surgery because they are truly afraid that they won’t wake up from anesthesia and will never see family and friends again. Others fear the pain that will invariably result from cutting into the body. But did you know, that when music is put into your brain, through headphones, anesthesia and pain medication can sometimes be cut in half!! Yes, this is what research in the fields of music therapy, nursing, surgery and music medicine have shown. Even if you don’t require 50% less anesthesia and pain medication, you will require less of each, and the less medication you require, the more like you will awaken from surgery and get back to your life.

If you’re interested in knowing more about this, go to Surgical Serenity Solutions and begin educating yourself about music with surgery!

By DrAlice|September 13, 2013|Anesthesia, Benefits of music during surgery, Common Fears in Surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Fear and Anxiety about Surgery, Fear of anesthesia, Fear of surgery|0 Comments

Another Study Documents Benefits of Music with Surgery

Are you, or someone you love, having surgery sometime soon? You’ve probably heard about people using music during their surgery. Perhaps you’ve wondered what that’s all about? I did, and was very curious about how that worked and whether or not the doctor would allow it or whether the patient could even hear the music, once they were asleep.

Recently I came across another article about this in the Huffington Post! It’s not a medical journal, I know, but the research it cites is from a medical journal in England. Enjoy!

Listening to music eases stress of surgery

By DrAlice|September 11, 2013|Benefits of music during surgery, Surgical Headphones reviews|0 Comments

Music during surgery: Why???

This is an excerpt from a guest lecture I gave at a major University in the South. People around the world are realizing the benefits that music for the patient during surgery can offer. Reduced amounts of anesthesia and pain medication can greatly speed up recovery time and make the entire procedure safer as a result of less anesthesia. Especially for older adults, frail adults and all children, the less anesthesia your body has to have the better! Of course the patient will be receiving enough that there is no pain or awareness of the procedure. To learn more about the use of music headphones, click on this link.

By DrAlice|September 6, 2010|Benefits of cordless headphones, Benefits of music during surgery, Cardiac By-pass surgery with music|0 Comments

A True Story of Music and Surgery!

Here is what I did to improve
my heart surgery experience …

… And Recover In LESS Time!

I fear going to the doctor. When I got married, I couldn’t even look at the nurse that did my blood test. A routine physical exam would leave me in a cold sweat and completely worn-out.

My dislike of the doctor’s office, the trip to the dentist, or a hospital visit was solved by “I just didn’t go to those places very often.” My health care system was based on “Denial of Need.” I would tell my wife:

          “I don’t need to do that.”
          “I don’t feel that bad.”
          “I just need more sleep.”

The “Denial” system worked well when I was 21. I had no major medical situations when I was 31 or 41 or even 51. I was living a healthy life-style; I never had to spend the night in the hospital; I never had surgery.

At age 53, and over the next 10 years, my healthcare needs increased. I had a heart attack, open heart surgery, cardiac failure, and this year I had surgery to implant a defibrillator pacemaker. Turns out my family has a history of heart problems and my baby-boomer life-style wasn’t as healthy as I thought.

Am I still nervous or afraid of hospitals after 3 major surgeries and 4 hospital stays — Yes, but let me tell you what I did to improve my surgery experience:   Read More

By DrAlice|May 10, 2010|Benefits of music during surgery, Dangers and Side-effects of anesthesia, Music and Heart Surgery, Pacemaker implantation|0 Comments

Surgery Headphones are ready for YOU!

For almost 20 years I have been reading about, thinking about and finally creating headphones for patients to wear during surgery. The research is there: through the process of rhythmic entrainment, patients who are listening to steady, rhythmic music through headphones, stay relaxed and as a result, require less anesthesia, less anxiety meds before and less pain medication afterwards! This is BIG because one of the things you must recover from after surgery is the ANESTHESIA! The anesthesiologist monitors all of your vital signs during surgery and by watching things such as your blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature, determines how much anesthesia you need. (This is of course, a great over-simplification of what he does.) When slow, steady, heart-beat tempo music is entering your brain directly through the 8th cranial nerve (thanks to the headphones) your bio-rhythms will entrain or synchronize to the pulse of the music, and you will stay relaxed as a result.

Most people are pretty tense and anxious when they go into surgery and need a little more anesthesia (or an anti-anxiety drug such as valium or other benzodiazepines) just to begin to relax their muscles. If the headphones are put on at least 30 minutes prior to surgery, less anesthesia will be needed in order for the patient to “go to sleep.” When headphones are used throughout the surgery and into the recovery area, less anesthesia and less pain medication will be needed for the entire procedure!

These facts have been known in the field of music therapy for years, but until now no one had created wireless, totally self-contained, preprogrammed headphones just for surgery! Now that they exist, I hope that you will help me create safer surgical experiences for your family and friends but spreading the word! click HERE to purchase your headphones, or, if you wish, you can purchase a download of my specially chosen surgical music to put on your own iPod or MP3 player. Of course, the MP3 players are not cordless but still you can have the music.

Please feel free to leave your comments! To your good health!

By DrAlice|February 27, 2009|Benefits of cordless headphones, Benefits of music during surgery|0 Comments

Nine questions to ask your surgeon before the procedure

You know that music makes a difference in your surgical procedure, right? You can have live music but that’s a little harder that purchasing either the special music I’ve put together for you or my pre-programmed MP3 player, ready to go into surgery with you. Which do you want? Click on the ad in the top left corner to order! Thanks!

Nine important questions to ask your surgeon before your surgery.
Preparing for surgery can be a big undertaking. However, in the midst of your preparation don’t forget to get all your questions answered before the surgery. Write down questions if you have to and ask your primary care doctor or surgeon. Don’t be afraid to ask what you think is a silly question. To help you prepare for surgery, here are nine questions to get you started. Ask these questions before your surgery, as well as any others that come to mind.
1. What is done during the surgery?
Ask for a clear description of the operation. If necessary, ask the doctor to draw a picture to help explain exactly what the surgery involves. Find out if there are alternative surgical procedures. Are there alternatives to surgery? Sometimes surgery is the only way to correct the problem. But one option might be watchful waiting, to see if the problem gets better or worse.
2. How will surgery help?
A hip replacement, for example, may mean you’ll be able to walk comfortably again. To what extent will the surgery help, and how long will the benefits last? You’ll want realistic expectations.
3. What are the risks?
All operations carry some risk. Weigh the benefits against the risks. Ask about the side effects of the operation, such as the degree of pain you might expect and how long that pain will last.
4. What kind of experience have you had with this surgery?
How many times has the doctor performed this surgery, and what percentage of the people who have had the surgery had successful results? To reduce your risks, you want a doctor who is thoroughly trained in the surgery and who has plenty of experience doing it.
5. Where will the surgery be done?
Many surgeries today are done on an outpatient basis. You go to a hospital or a clinic for the surgery and return home the same day.
6. Will I be put to sleep for the surgery?
Your surgery may require only local anesthesia, which means that just part of your body is numbed for a short time. In case of general anesthesia, you are put to sleep.
7. How long will the surgery and recovery take?
Many surgeries can be done relatively quickly and don’t require an extended stay in a hospital. However, it may be different for your surgery, so you should ask. Also ask whether you’ll need to stay overnight in the hospital, or perhaps stay several days.
You’ll want to know when most people are able to resume their normal activities, such as doing chores around the house and returning to work. You may think there would be no harm in lifting a sack of groceries after a week or two. But there might be. Follow your doctor’s advice as carefully as possible. Also ask your surgeon if you’ll have any restrictions on what you can eat or drink before or after the surgery.
8. What will it cost me?
Health insurance coverage varies. You may not have to pay anything. You might have a deductible to meet. Or perhaps you’ll have to pay a percentage of the cost. The doctor’s office can usually give you information about this, but you also need to check with your insurance company. Be aware there will be both a surgeon’s fee and a hospital or facility fee — know the cost of both. Be certain to know if you are responsible for a flat copay — a set amount for the surgery — or if you have to pay a percentage of the bill. There’s a big difference.
9. Should I get a second opinion?
If, after asking all these questions and others, you still have unanswered questions, are unsatisfied with the answers or are still uncomfortable about surgery, you may want to consider the advice of another doctor.
A second opinion, also called a consultation, can be a good way for you to get some more perspective on your surgical options. If you seek a second opinion, do so with someone with expertise doing the surgery. Your primary care doctor may be able to help suggest someone for a second opinion. Keep in mind that a second opinion isn’t necessarily any better than the first one. If there’s disagreement, or agreement, between the two opinions, it’s still up to you to evaluate what choice you feel most comfortable with.

By DrAlice|November 18, 2008|Benefits of cordless headphones, Benefits of music during surgery, Prepare for surgery|0 Comments

Should you use Christmas Music with your surgery?

You know, that may sound like a silly question, but I have gotten it and many more like it and it is actually a very logical question. Is there a magical formula for the music that works best during surgery? Believe it or not, there is! And I’m going to give it to you in a general way
The music you already love that is:

slow and steady-tempo of the healthy, resting heartbeat
purely instrumental
no more than three gentle instruments

What do I mean by “gentle instruments”? I mean something like a flute, a harp, a cello, or even a quiet piano. What wouldn’t work?…a trumpet, a tuba, anything that has a bit of an “edge” to it. Feel free to disagree, but these are the instruments that people report that they find relaxing, soothing, comforting.

Can Christmas music fall nto this category? Of course! This year I made a CD that is mostly soft, quiet Christmas music. At least one person I know used it during their surgery and reported good results!

By DrAlice|December 21, 2007|Benefits of music during surgery, Characteristics of music for surgery, Surgery Music|0 Comments

Will the Dr. allow music in surgery?

Today I was speaking before a group of nearly 100 people. As usual, most of them were shocked and excited to find that when the patient listens to music through headphones during surgery, the amount of anesthesia needed can be decreased by as much as 50%. A valid question is “will the Dr. automatically allow the patient to bring music into the O.R.?” and the answer is “NO.” You must let your doctor know as much in advance as possible so that if persuasion is needed, you’ll have time to provide evidence and documentation of music’s effectiveness. If you are interested in knowing more about this, you can visit my website, www.SurgicalSerenitySolutions.com or just put “music and surgery” into a search engine. You’ll be amazed at how much information is out there!

By DrAlice|January 28, 2007|Benefits of cordless headphones, Benefits of music during surgery, Music in the OR|0 Comments

How about Ipods in Surgery?

Should you take your iPod into surgery? About a year ago, the site www.livescience.com had this to say:

If you’re headed for surgery, take your iPod.
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.

This is significant folks. Listen up! And please let your doctor know as far in advance as possible that you want to use music through headphones or an iPod. You won’t regret it!

By DrAlice|December 15, 2006|Benefits of music during surgery|0 Comments

Headphones for Surgery

You probably remember that I am in the process of creating some special headphones for surgery. The patent is almost finalized but recently, I hit a little bump in the road. Seemingly out of the blue, it was brought to my attention that I would need FDA approval. At first I though “that can’t be right” but the more I have investigated it, the more I have found that it does seem to be true! It seems that if you’re making any sort of medical claim about a device, you must have FDA approval, whether it’s an invasive device or not. Interesting, eh?