Placebo Surgeries

In a recent article at Is It A Good Idea, they address a recent article that was written in Out Patient Surgery Magazine. Recently, placebo operations were tested in a clinical trial for knee surgeries. There were three groups tested: two performed actual surgeries and the third, just incisions were made into the knee and no operation was made. At the beginning of the trial, patients were told there was a possibility that they could receive a fake surgery.

All of the patients reported improvements after their surgeries, even those who did not receive any actual surgery. As stated by the article:

This was particularly significant, because previous studies conducted without a sham group had reported that the majority of arthroscopy patients got relief from knee pain.

Doctors believe this is the same concept as the placebo effect. With patients minds set that they are receiving medical attention, they believe that they are getting better.