A Survey of Perioperative Applications of Traditional Chinese Medicine

Thoracic surgery patients often suffer greatly after surgery owing to pain, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, lack of appetite, and confusion. Despite concerted efforts over decades, physicians have been unable to reliably reduce these aftereffects of surgery using Western medical approaches. Alternative treatment modalities such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture and its related techniques, have shown promise in improving perioperative outcomes when used as an adjunct to Western techniques. This chapter briefly surveys the impact of acupuncture on a variety of aftereffects of surgery. The results are very promising and further research is warranted. At present, acupuncture techniques should be considered for use in improving postoperative care.