Are you ready for music with your surgery?

People who live in the Louisville, KY area have been hearing about music with surgery for at least 10 years. At first blush, it seems like a radical idea, but once people understand that your body responds to music even when "asleep" it makes perfect sense. The first thing one must understand is: It's NOT about entertainment! Although I'd like to believe that it is definitely enjoyable, the idea is that our minds and bodies respond to the slow, steady pulse of music by staying more relaxed and maintaining and slow, steady heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure. THIS allows the patient to require up to 50% LESS anesthesia! That is phenomenal! Anesthesia is one of the most dangerous (but necessary) parts of surgery. If you can maintain the same level of sedation without nearly as much anesthesia, why wouldn't you?

If you're as excited about this as I am, stay tuned to this blog for regular updates!

Have you heard about the cyberknife?

Have you heard about the cyberknife? The name certainly cauht my attention but the really exciting thing for me is that the patients use only music to relax before the treatment, i.e. no anesthesia! The following article came from the Star-Telegram.com. "The sharpest knives don't even cut," proclaims a billboard near downtown Fort Worth promoting CyberKnife, a high-tech device that delivers radiation therapy with sub-millimeter precision. Its robotic tracking system keeps a targeted tumor in its crosshair focus while zapping the tumor with 150 to 300 high-energy X-ray beams. We asked Dr. Peter LaNasa, medical director of the Harris Methodist CyberKnife Center in the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Fort Worth, to tell us more: Is it actually a knife? No, it is called the CyberKnife because it can be used to treat tumors with surgical precision, including tumors considered "inoperable" because of their location or because the patient can't tolerate traditional surgery -- for example, a lung cancer patient with severe emphysema. What kinds of cancer is it used for? The CyberKnife can be used for brain, spine, head and neck, lung, liver, pancreas, prostate, bone and other localized tumors. It is not used for tumors that cannot be tracked precisely (tongue) or tumors in organs particularly sensitive to radiosurgery (bowel). Is there any discomfort? No. Patients lie quietly on an open table and listen to music for 45 to 60 minutes. No anesthesia is used. All treatments are performed as outpatient, and Medicare and most insurance plans cover the costs. Are there other CyberKnife centers in this area? There are two in Dallas, one in Tyler, one here, one in Austin and one in San Antonio, but not another going west until you get to Arizona. None in Louisville, KY, I'm assuming!

Why talk to the anesthesiologist?

If you're thinking about using music with your surgery, you really do want to talk with the anesthesiologist first. Why? Because the anesthesiologist is the one whose job will be most affected by the patient's use of music. Why is that, you say? One of the main reasons to use music through headphones during surgery is because the patient is able to use up to 50% less anesthesia when they are hearing music through headphones during the procedure. As I've said many times, even though there are many, many studies documenting this phenomenon,many physicians still are not aware of it and therefore will need to be educated about the benefits. If you're interested in trying it but don't know enough to talk with your doctor, use the link above to order my two-tape set which will give you the info you need as well as the music you need! You'll be so glad you did!