Prof Dr Jayanti A Kulkarni
Homeopathy considers diseases primarily as a disturbance in the vital force (life force). If this disturbance persists for long and the body is not able to overcome the condition, it may lead to a state that may or may not come back to normalcy with internal medications. Such conditions, at times, create disease products such as over growth, tumor, cysts, prolapse, and stones and so on. These residual products become foreign to the body which turn out to be an obstacle to cure. In such situation recovery may not be without removal of the maintaining cause. Surgery, in such cases, eliminates the disease products or residues immediately and helps the vital force to recover faster
Homeopathy recognize the role of surgery on the following disease or conditions:
(i) With irreversible pathology;
(ii) Severe injuries, cases of accidents, wounds and injuries;
(iii) When the disease process cannot be brought back to the normal with medication alone
(iv) In cases where the part of the body becomes irreparable.
(v) Congenital abnormalities and structural problems.
In all the above, either the continuation of the diseases process/ product may be harmful to health or prolong the recovery. Homeopathy encourages nonsurgical interventions that is amenable to medication as far as possible. It encourages surgery only in unavoidable circumstances to quicken the healing process.
As per a study by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it is estimated that 11% of the Global Burden on Diseases (GBD) can be treated with surgery. This total is composed of injuries (38%), malignancies (19%), congenital anomalies (9%), complications of pregnancy (6%), cataracts (5%) and peri-natal conditions (4%). The overall burden of disease that may be cured, palliated or treated with surgical intervention is large and (probably) rapidly growing, and therefore the role of surgery must therefore be revisited. The integration of homeopathic medicines with surgical care uses the best of both worlds to create comprehensive and more effective health care.
As per the homeopathic concepts disease per se, is “nothing more than an alteration in the state of health of an individual. This is caused by the dynamic action of external, inimical forces upon the life principle of the living organism, known by perceptible signs and symptoms.
Aphorism (§)186 of Organon of Medicine, the book of doctrines of homeopathy, written by Dr Hahnemann, describes the homeopathic approach on surgical conditions: “Those so-called local maladies which have been produced a short time previously, solely by an external lesion, still appear at first sight to deserve the name of local diseases. …The treatment of such diseases is relegated to surgery; but this is right only in so far as the affected parts require mechanical aid, whereby the external obstacles to the cure, which can only be expected to take place by the agency of the vital force, may be removed by mechanical means, e.g., by the reduction of dislocations, by needles and bandages to bring together the lips of wounds, by mechanical pressure to still the flow of blood from open arteries, by the extraction of foreign bodies that have penetrated into the living parts, by making an opening into a cavity of the body in order to remove an irritating substance or to procure the evacuation of effusions or collections of fluids, by bringing into apposition the broken extremities of a fractured bone and retaining them in exact contact by an appropriate bandage, etc.”.
He further states that “ But when in such injuries the whole living organism requires, as it always does, active dynamic aid to put it in a position to accomplish the work of healing, e.g., when the violent fever resulting from extensive contusions, lacerated muscles, tendons and blood-vessels requires to be removed by medicine given internally, or when the external pain of scalded or burnt parts needs to be homeopathically subdued, then the services of the dynamic physician and his helpful homeopathy come into requisition”.
Homeopathy broadly classifies diseases as dynamic diseases and local maladies. Surgical conditions are a part of the local maladies in which surgical intervention may be essential. Injuries of all kinds, like accidents, bone fractures, deep contused-lacerated wounds, serious abnormal growths, bullet wounds or cuts that arise due to mechanical causes need to be treated surgically. Surgery is indicated in certain cases, e.g. tumours in advanced stages with strong pressure symptoms. Every tumour, stricture or obstruction that do not respond to a treatment but threatening the life of the patient, requires surgical intervention. Kidney stones impeding the urine flow and affecting the function of the kidneys due to blockage should be mechanically removed. Surgical intervention might be indicated too, concerning a uterus prolapse of 3rd or 4th degree or an inguinal hernia which threatens to strangulate.
Scope of homeopathy in surgical conditions
Homoepathic medicines used before and after surgery has been found to protect the patient from shock, pains, bleeding or other effects of surgical intervention. Homeopathy is able to eliminate the unpleasant effects of anaesthesia. Regaining consciousness after surgery often evokes nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, dizziness or headaches. The homeopathic remedies bring quick relief in such cases. Even long-term effects of anaesthesia like memory and orientation problems, personality changes or depressions are successfully treated with homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathy considers the long term diseases as due to deep constitutional weakness of the body that makes susceptible the individual for the frequent infections. Recurrent tonsillitis, chronic sinusitis, peptic ulcers, warts, cysts, fat growths, polyps, continuous formation of kidney stones or gallstones, venous thrombosis, varicose veins, haemorrhoids, ganglion, calcaneal spur, ovarian cysts, repeated tumours of the breast, cervix erosion, begin hyperplasia of prostate, fistulas and such conditions are treatable with homeopathic medicines to a great extent. Homeopathy considers that they are expression of our body about the internal derangements that we need to understand for correction. There are many conditions which have tendency to relapse which are not surgical but in fact constitutional problems. In such cases either constitutional medicines are prescribed for correction of the internal derangement or treated symptomatically to relive the discomfort.
In some other conditions, the surgical procedure might have removed the abscess, tumor, kidney stones or gallstones, or other diseased parts. This might have helped the patient to recover the immediate situation. Homeopathy considers this does not necessarily mean that the person is “cured” because, the cause of the disturbance, that leads to surgery, was not corrected. In fact the removal did not change the underlying pathological processes that created them. In such conditions people tend to get recurrence of their ailments.
Between the class of diseases where surgery is inevitable and diseases that are manageable purely with medication, there lies a class of diseases known as so-called surgical diseases. These are the cases which are amenable to medical treatment. In these surgical disorders homeopathy may be tried before resorting to surgical interventions. Homeopathy is also a very good option in conditions where surgery is contra indicated, but the patient need relief.
References:
- http://www.homeopathicdoctor.co.in/
- http://www.drhomeo.com/sinusitis/homeopathic-remedies-for-sinus
- http://treatment.hpathy.com/homeo-medicine
- https://www.homeopathic.com
- Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, Organon of Medicine, 16th Edn,2016, Birla Publications, Shadra, New Delhi
- Stuart M. CLOSE Dr, The Genius of Homeopathy, Lectures and Essays on Homeopathic Philosophy, B Jain Publishers, New Delhi
- http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Pre_Surgical_and_Post_Surgical_Treatment
Prof. Dr. Jayanti A. Kulkarni
Department of surgery
VHMC- VIRAR
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