Hypnotist Alex Lenkei In Trance For Surgery

A hospital patient whose day job is being a hypnotist has had his sixth operation without anaesthetic.

Alex Lenkei chose to forgo traditional anaesthetic and instead put himself in a trance for the ankle replacement surgery.

While it was not the 66-year-old's first foray into the world of operations under hypnosis - he has had six operations that way - it was the first time for orthopaedic surgeon Dominic Nielsen.

Mr Nielsen performed the two-hour operation, which involved saw cutting through Mr Lenkei's bone, at Epsom Hospital in Surrey.

"It certainly was a bit nerve-wracking making the first cut, not being sure whether he would be able to feel it, but once we got through that bit it became very much like doing any other ankle replacement," said Mr Nielsen.

"He did amazingly well with the whole thing.

"To be honest, it was just like doing any other operation.

"Alex went through the process, which took a very short period of time, and he told us he was ready to go ahead ... It sort of went out of my mind that he was awake and able to correspond.

"He made a couple of comments during the operation which obviously reminded us that it was a strange experience.

"He commented at one point on the noise of the saws and was just asking how it was going. It was very strange."

An anaesthetist was on hand in case anything went wrong during the July 8 operation, but he was not needed.

Mr Lenkei, from Worthing, West Sussex, said: "I'm not averse to anaesthetic - it's just that my pain control is a hell of a lot better than the medical profession's and I heal a lot quicker because my body doesn't have to get rid of all of the chemicals.

"Most doctors are scared because obviously it is not something that they come across in the medical profession, as such.

"The brain is a very sophisticated computer and if you press the right buttons it will do amazing things - if you press the right buttons it will switch certain things off."

Mr Lenkei, who suffers from osteoarthritis, six operations without general anaesthesia include surgery on his hand, a hernia removal and freeing a trapped nerve near his elbow.