Under the harsh lights of an operating theatre in Delhi, a woman lies motionless as surgeons prepare to remove her gallbladder.
She is under general anaesthesia: unconscious, insensate and rendered completely still by a blend of drugs that induce deep sleep, block memory, blunt pain and temporarily paralyse muscles.
Yet, amidst the hum of monitors and the steady rhythm of the surgical team, a gentle stream of flute music plays through the headphones placed over her ears.
Even as the drugs silence much of her brain, its auditory pathway remains partly active. When she wakes up, she will regain consciousness more quickly and clearly because she required lower doses of anaesthetic drugs such as propofol and opioid painkillers than patients who heard no music.
This is supported by a new peer-reviewed study from Delhi's Maulana Azad Medical College, published in the journal Music and Medicine, which provides some of the strongest evidence that music can reduce drug requirements and improve recovery during general anaesthesia.
The study focused on patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy, a standard keyhole operation to remove the gallbladder. The procedure typically lasts under an hour and necessitates a quick recovery.
Dr. Farah Husain, a senior specialist in anaesthesia and a certified music therapist, noted the study's aim was to achieve early discharge after surgery with patients needing to wake up clear-headed, alert, and ideally pain-free.
Modern anaesthesia employs a combination of drugs that keep patients asleep while managing pain and muscle relaxation. Researchers conducted a study on 56 adult patients, comparing those who listened to music with those who did not during anaesthesia.
The striking results indicated that patients exposed to music required lower doses of propofol and fentanyl and experienced smoother recoveries, lower stress hormone levels, and better blood pressure control during surgery.
Dr. Wadhawan, the study supervisor, emphasized that while patients are unconscious, their brains still register the music, potentially aiding in recovery.
As the study team prepares to explore further music-aided sedation techniques, they hope to illuminate how simple interventions can enhance patient well-being in surgical settings.
