The Application Of Acupuncture Anaesthesia For Ophthalmic Surgery

Eye Hospital of Zhongshan Medical College, Guangzhou

Since 1969, 2,635 cases, twenty types of eye operations including glaucoma, strabismus, cataract, detachment of retina, pterygium, chalazion, entropion, extraction of intraocular foreign body, dacryocystorhinostomy have been performed under acupuncture anaesthesia in our hospital. The effect of acupuncture anaesthesia is divided into 4 grades. The effective rate of Grade I is 45.91%, Grade II is 35.01%, Grade III is 13.26% and Grade IV is 5.82%.

Gradings: Grade I: Free from pain or with slight pain, but without muscular tension during the operation; Grade II: Only in one or two surgical steps gave rise to pain with mild increase of muscular tension; Grade III: Mild to moderate pain occurred during the operation with muscular tension and superficial anaesthesia had to be supplemented to complete the operation; Grade IV: severe pain and muscular tension, which made the operation impossible to proceed, medicinal anaesthesia had to be applied instead.


Methods: Three groups of points were used: 1st Group -- Zanzhu to Yuyao, Taiyang; 2nd Group -- Hegu and Zhigou; 3rd Group -- Zanzhu, Sibai, and both Hegu.

Methods of stimulation include electro-acupuncture, hand rotation of the needle and local point block. The induction time varied from 15-30 minutes. 0.5% dicaine solution was used for 1-2 times as supplementary anaesthesia. Before the operation, luminal was used. For some operations, less than 50mg dolantin i. m. was given during the operation.


At present, the following problems remain unsolved in ophthalmic surgery under acupuncture anesthesia:

1. Whether acupuncture anaesthesia is likely to be successful or not remains unpredictable before the operation.

2. So far as our experience is concerned no specific points have given better analgesic effect than others.

3. The acupuncture anesthesia has no effect on relaxation of muscular tension which affects the intraocular pressure. Intraocular surgery such as intracapsular extraction of cataract may not be a good indication for using acupuncture anesthesia.