During the First European Congress of Anesthesiology, held in Vienna, Austria, in September, 1962, panel discussions on nineteen different subjects were held, each lasting approxi mately three hours. One, concerning Controversial Aspects of Resuscitation, was later edited by its chairman, PETER SAFAR, and published in 1963. At the request of the publisher, the discussion on hypnosis has been edited in a similar manner. The participants in the discussion on Hypnosis in Anes thesiology had agreed, prior to the meeting, on a list of questions to be debated, and Dr. STOKVIS' introductory statement on the nature of hypnosis was circulated among them in appropriate translations in order to give the debate a starting point. It had also been agreed that no formal papers should be read after this introduction, and that the participants should use at will the German, English or French language. Following each contribution it was the chairman's task to give a brief summary in the two other languages. Discussion was therefore somewhat slowed down and occasionally rendered difficult by misunderstandings or the omission of details. Drs. GUEGUEN, MOSCONI, and VOLGYESI, who were not able. to attend, had sent written contributions which the chairman presented briefly during the discussion. The present text has been worked out of the tape recording of the discussion and the chairman's correspondence with the panelists some time after the meeting. Whenever the original contributions were in French or German, the English translation has been the chairman's.

In recent years our understanding of molecular mechanisms of drug action and interindividual variability in drug response has grown enormously. Meanwhile, the practice of anesthesiology has expanded to the preoperative environment and numerous locations outside the OR. Anesthetic Pharmacology: Basic Principles and Clinical Practice, 2nd edition, is an outstanding therapeutic resource in anesthesia and critical care: Section 1 introduces the principles of drug action, Section 2 presents the molecular, cellular and integrated physiology of the target organ/functional system and Section 3 reviews the pharmacology and toxicology of anesthetic drugs. The new Section 4, Therapeutics of Clinical Practice, provides integrated and comparative pharmacology and the practical application of drugs in daily clinical practice. Edited by three highly acclaimed academic anesthetic pharmacologists, with contributions from an international team of experts, and illustrated in full colour, this is a sophisticated, user-friendly resource for all practitioners providing care in the perioperative period.

Presents a modern vision of anaesthesia, integrating technology and knowledge, to change how anaesthesia is taught and practised.

The use of hypnosis in surgery and anesthesia does not seem to have any influence on operative mortality. However, hypnosis and hypnotic techniques teach patients a way to alter their body's reaction to the insult of surgery and all the poisons used to create unconsciousness. The use of hypnosis alters the psychological state of the patient which, in turn, influences the psychological reaction to the insult. This book describes in detail how to teach patients, in just a few minutes, what they can do to accomplish this. It also provides the vast amount of research that has been done to document these physiological changes that seem to be the result of the use of hypnosis. The author and her contributors have made it their goal to alleviate, prevent, and control both pain and suffering. They use hypnosis as an integral part of this effort and describe how it enhances all aspects of pain control. There are chapters on hypnosis as the sole anesthetic, as an adjunct to chemical anesthesia, and in conjunction with regional anesthesia. Additional topics include hypnosis in the intensive care unit and in the emergency room and hypnosis in obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatric surgery. The book concludes with several case studies from physician-patients. This excellent resource is intended to stimulate physicians to explore the vast capabilities of the human mind, when it is working together with the body, and with the help of unconsciousness, to accept hypnotic suggestion.

Hypnosis, amnesia, and immobility are three major therapeutic endpoints of general anesthesia. In one to two cases out of a thousand, hypnosis and amnesia are not achieved - often leaving a patient immobile but capable of experiencing and remembering intraoperative events. Awareness during general anesthesia is one of the most dreaded complications of surgery and is feared by patients and clinicians alike. Despite many advances in the field, there are also a number of unresolved questions that persist. Some of the difficulties in the detection and prevention of awareness during anesthesia relate to the underlying complexities of the neuroscientific basis of consciousness. Consciousness, Awareness, and Anesthesia is a multidisciplinary approach to both the scientific problem of consciousness and the clinical problem of awareness during general anesthesia. An international cadre of authors with expertise in anesthesiology, neurobiology, and philosophy provides a cutting-edge perspective. No other book on the subject has drawn from such a breadth of scholarship.

The clinical practice of anesthesia has undergone many advances in the past few years, making this the perfect time for a new state-of-the-art anesthesia textbook for practitioners and trainees. The goal of this book is to provide a modern, clinically focused textbook giving rapid access to comprehensive, succinct knowledge from experts in the field. All clinical topics of relevance to anesthesiology are organized into 29 sections consisting of more than 180 chapters. The print version contains 166 chapters that cover all of the essential clinical topics, while an additional 17 chapters on subjects of interest to the more advanced practitioner can be freely accessed at www.cambridge.org/vacanti. Newer techniques such as ultrasound nerve blocks, robotic surgery and transesophageal echocardiography are included, and numerous illustrations and tables assist the reader in rapidly assimilating key information. This authoritative text is edited by distinguished Harvard Medical School faculty, with contributors from many of the leading academic anesthesiology departments in the United States and an introduction from Dr S. R. Mallampati. This book is your essential companion when preparing for board review and recertification exams and in your daily clinical practice.

Some important constraints of anesthesia must be taken into consideration when the pharmacological properties of modern anesthetics are discussed. The most imp- tant of these could be that the target effect be achieved preferably within seconds, at most within a few minutes. Similarly, offset of drug action should be achieved within minutes rather hours. The target effects, such as unconsciousness, are pot- tially life-threatening, as are the side effects of modern anesthetics, such as respi- tory and cardiovascular depression. Finally, the patient’s purposeful responses are not available to guide drug dosage, because, either the patient is unconscious, or more problematically, the patient is aware but unable to communicate pain because of neuromuscular blockade. These constraints were already recognised 35 years ago, when in 1972 Volume XXX entitled “Modern Inhalation Anesthetics” appeared in this Handbook Series. The present volume is meant as a follow up and extension of that volume. At the beginning of the 1970’s anesthesia was commonly delivered by inhalation, with only very few exceptions. The clinical understanding of that time considered anesthesia as a unique state achieved by any of the inhalation anesthetics, in- pendent of their specific molecular structure. “The very mechanism of anesthetic action at the biophase” was discussed within the theoretical framework of the “u- tary theory of narcosis”.

Two premier hypnotherapists collaborate on a new edition of this award-winning text, a collection of techniques and information about hypnosis that no serious student or practitioner should be without. A thorough and practical handbook of various hypnotherapeutic measures, it contains illustrative examples and logically argued selection methods to help practitioners choose the ideal method for a needed purpose. Section by section, it breaks out the various methods and phenomena of hypnosis into easily digested chunks, so the reader can pick and choose at leisure. An excellent practical guide and reference that is sure to be used regularly. The authors have a wide and longstanding experience on the subject and thus can stay on clinically approvable methods.