Colin Lewis - Acupuncture Vietnamese style

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Colin Lewis - Acupuncture Vietnamese style
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olin Lewis was introduced to us as the Prof Winston of acupuncture or possibly the ÎSteven SpeilbergÌ! He had been fortunate enough to have been invited to Vietnam as a lecturer and kept a fascinating audiovisual diary which he shared with us. We were told at the start that this talk would be an ÎevidenceÌ free zone. We were not to be disappointed. Our only task was to sit back and ÎenjoyÌ and that we certainly did!

We were introduced to Vietnam as a proud country, keen to promote itself to tourists and not just to be remembered for its recent and bloody conflict. It is a country of some 83 million souls, the combined size of the UK and Ireland. It is culturally very close to China and this was also largely reflected in the style and use of acupuncture. Ho Chi MinhÌs legacy was to integrate western and traditional practices.

We were introduced to the Vietnamese National Hospital of Acupuncture in Hanoi. This has 250 in-patient and 150 out-patient beds and good diagnostic facilities that we would recognize here in the UK. A variety of acupuncture related techniques are used including cupping, pinching, steaming and use of herbs. Above all else electroacupuncture is favoured. We were shown a ÎmamaÌ of an electroacupuncture device with more channels than the national grid, being used to treat a patient with knee pain. We were led into the Acupuncture Analgesia department and watched a fascinating video of a thyroidectomy under electroacupuncture analgesia. On the positive side this is relatively easy to perform and particularly useful in the elderly or inform who may have anaesthetic related problems. Patients can be up and about far quicker that with a conventional anaesthetic and potentially suffer less post- operative complications. The patient in our video

As previously stated, much of the acupuncture seemed indistinguishable from that practiced in China with five elements featuring highly in theory and practice. Using acupuncture in drug rehabilitation is very big with the use of body and ear points and success quoted at over 80% which takes some believing!

ColinÌs talk then departed from medicine and acupuncture and we were treated to a tour of the country including an underwater puppet show (nice work if you can get it) the ubiquitous paddy fields and some amazing footage from the sea and harbours around the coastline.

Colin was thanked profusely by one member of the audience for the "most relaxing presentation ever" and I would certainly second that. We must continue to seek the ÎEvidenceÌ and explore the ÎScienceÌ of acupuncture but there is still room for the ÎArtÌ just as in medicine generally.
was clearly conscious and seemed relaxed. It proved difficult for Colin to get much detailed information from his hosts however about their specific experience with this type of procedure. A subsequent discussion amongst the audience drew on experiences of others who had witnessed this in China. It seems that staggeringly large premeds are often given and patient selection is also very important. Overall it is almost certainly being used less and less frequently in favour of what is seem as being the more predictable and reliable general anaesthesia techniques that we are all familiar with. This left the ÎromanticÌ side of me feeling a tinge of disappointment.