Use of acupuncture in surgery to be extended to other hospitals: Subramaniam

IPOH: The use of acupuncture in surgery to reduce pain or known as acupuncture-assisted anaesthesia (AAA) would be extended to other hospitals in the country, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.
He said to date, this Chinese traditional medical procedure had only been used at Raja Permaisuri Bainun Hospital (HRPB), here, Selayang Hospital and Putrajaya Hospital.
Since AAA was introduced in 2011, he said, 22 surgeries for various illnesses had been conducted using the procedure.
"Surgeries that have been performed using AAA included excision of breast lumps, cranioplasty, craniotomy and drainage of brain abscess, thyroid surgery, lymph node excision, removal of chemoport and lipoma excision," he said at a news conference after listening to a briefing on the procedure at HRPB's Day Treatment Complex, here.
Subramaniam then visited the Day Treatment Ward at the hospital's Emergency and Trauma Department.
"Among the advantages of AAA are that the patient can return home after the surgery, pain reduction during surgery and the patient is conscious during surgery," he said.
"These help to speed up the post-surgery recovery, and the procedure can be used in certain situations as an alternative to the usual surgical procedure.
"Besides that, this method does not involve a high cost and patients don't have to stay long in hospital, hence saving some costs for the hospital." – Bernama