Editorial Hypnosis: a new anesthetic technique! M.M. LUCAS-POLOMENI MD

In parallel with its rapid development in psycho-therapy, hypnosis also finds applications in anesthe-sia and surgery. The founding father of modern hypnosis is Milton Erickson, who was born in 1901 and founded the American Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He defined hypnosis as a natural phe-nomenon that anyone of us can reach. It is an altered state of consciousness based on the principle of dissociation, with a concentrated but focused atten-tion which is different from the state of sleep (1). In fact, hypnosis corresponds to a state of inner absorption and such a focused attention that the individual becomes unconcerned about any other consideration (2). The analgesic effect of hypnosis in pain management has been extensively studied (3)