[Clinical approaches to improvement of appendectomy effects under acupuncture anesthesia]

Appendicitis is a commonly and frequently encountered disease in surgery department. Appendectomy under acupuncture anesthesia (A.A) is save and effective, easy and economical, and helpful to recover with no side effects to patients, organism. This manipulation of anesthesia is worth applying and popularizing. Though appendectomy is a small-scale operation in clinical practices, it also has three crucial difficulties to be resolved during the process of operations. It is of great practical significance to popularize the operations under A.A. that the crucial difficulties--incomplete anesthesia, muscular tension and pulling reaction of viscus are to be probed into and overcome. Since 1970, we have had about 2000 cases of appendectomy under A.A., in which there were 1622 cases with rather detailed medical records. The clinical effects have been analysed and the experiences have been summed up from success and failure. The steps we conferred are as follows: 1. strict selection of the cases; 2. point selection and needle manipulation based on differentiation of symptoms and signs of TCM; 3. reasonable utilization of adjuvants; 4. maintenance of best needling sensation; 5. maintenance of relatively fixed groups of surgeons and assistants; and 6. improvement of operative technique. This is a valid way to have operative effect achieved. we have adhered to the 6 aspects mentioned above since 1982 and improved the success rate of appendectomy under A.A. The rate of success reached 96.6% in which the rate of excellent result (Grade I) was 39% and the rate of good result (Grade II) 57.9%.