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Psychic surgery is surgery which is said to be done by paranormal surgical means. It is practiced chiefly in Brazil and the Philippines, and is performed by psychic doctors or psychic surgeons, who say they extract "tumors" or other pathological objects such as pus or bones from the patient's body through an incision.

Skeptics say such paranormal talents do not exist, and argue that sleight of hand can best explain psychic surgery. It has been denounced by the US Federal Trade Commission as a "total hoax".

Philippines

In the Philippines, the procedure originated in the 1940s with Eleuterio Terte. Terte and his student Tony Agpaoa trained others in his techniques. Terte and many of his students were associated with a religious organization, the Union Espiritista Christiana de Filipinas (The Christian Spiritist Union of the Philippines.)

In 1959, the procedure became widely known in the U. S. through the publication of Into the Strange Unknown by Ron Ormond and Ormond McGill. They called the practice "fourth dimensional surgery," and said " still don’t know what to think; but we have motion pictures to show it wasn’t the work of any normal magician, and could very well be just what the Filipinos said it was — a miracle of God performed by a fourth dimensional surgeon."

Perhaps the most famous psychic surgeon is Alex Orbito, who became well-known in the U. S. through association with actress Shirley MacLaine. On June 14, 2005, Orbito was arrested by Canadian authorities and indicted for fraud .

Psychic surgery made U.S. tabloid headlines in March 1984 when comedian Andy Kaufman, diagnosed with lung cancer, traveled to the Philippines for a six-week course of psychic surgery. Practitioner Jun Labo claimed to have removed large cancerous tumors and Kaufman believed the cancer had been removed. However, Kaufman died of metastatic carcinoma on May 16, 1984.

Brazil

The origins of the practice in Brazil are obscure; it may derive from Candomblé rituals, or it may have been inspired by reports from the Philippines. In any case, by the late 1950s several "spiritual doctors" were practicing in the country. Many of them were associated with Kardecism, a major spiritualistic religion in Brazil, and claimed to be performing their operations merely as channels for spirits of deceased medical doctors.

The most famous Brazilian psychic surgeon was José (Zé) Arigó, who claimed to be channeling for a certain Dr. Fritz. Unlike most other psychic surgeons, who work bare-handed, Arigo used a blade. Other psychic surgeons who claimed to channel for Dr. Fritz were Edson Queiroz and Rubens Farias Jr.. The most popular one today (especially abroad) is João de Deus, who operates in Abadiânia, state of Goiás.

According to the descriptions of Yoshiaki Omura (1997), Brazilian psychic surgery appears to be different from that practiced in the Philippines. Omura refers to practitioners using techniques resembling Qi Gong, Shiatsu massage, and chiropractic manipulation. Many patients were injected with a brown liquid, and minor surgery was performed in about 20% of the cases observed. While Arigó performed his operations with kitchen knives in improvised settings, Omura reports that the clamping of the blood vessels and the closings of the surgical wounds are now performed by licensed surgeons or licensed nurses.

Other locations

There are a handful of practitioners in the UK, notably Stephen Turoff, who operates the Danbury Healing Clinic in Chelmsford, England.

A San Francisco Chronicle article refers to psychic surgery as being practiced within "a kind of psychic underground in America, England, Russia and many other countries."

Fraud and sleight-of-hand

In in 1975 the Federal Trade Commission said in a unanimous opinion that "'psychic surgery' is nothing but a total hoax." Judge Daniel H. Hanscom, in granting the FTC an injunction against travel agencies promoting psychic surgery tours, said: "Psychic surgery is pure and unmitigated fakery. The 'surgical operations' of psychic surgeons ... with their bare hands are simply phony."

James Randi, a stage magician turned psychic debunker, says that psychic surgery is a sleight-of-hand confidence trick. He says that in personal observations of the procedure, and in movies showing the procedures, he can spot sleight-of-hand moves that are evident to experienced stage magicians, but might be missed by a casual observer. Randi says he has replicated the effects himself by sleight-of-hand . Professional magicians Milbourne Christopher and Robert Gurtler have also observed psychic surgeons at work, and claim to have spotted the use of sleight-of-hand. On his A&E show "Mindfreak" in the episode "Sucker," illusionist Criss Angel performs "Psychic Surgery," showing first-hand how it is done (using fake blood, plastic bags and chicken livers).

As a magic trick, psychic surgery is surprisingly easy to duplicate. First, the "surgeon" will slightly roll or pinch the skin over the area of the "operation". When his flattened hand reaches under the roll of skin, it looks and feels as if he's actually reaching into the patient's body. Simultaneously, the surgeon will have small bags of chicken or rat entrails palmed in his hand, or hidden beneath the table within easy reach. These entrails simulate the "diseased" tissue that the surgeon is supposedly removing. If the surgeon wants to simulate bleeding, he squeezes a bladder of animal blood. It is a simple illusion requiring very little practice. (Like most magic tricks, it's best practiced in front of a mirror.) If done properly, it can fool most patients and onlookers. Some "psychic surgery" does not rely solely on this magic trick.

In 1990, the American Cancer Society stated that it found no evidence that "psychic surgery" results in objective benefit in the treatment of any medical condition, and strongly urged individuals who are ill not to seek treatment by psychic surgery.

While not generally hazardous to the patient, medical fraud of this kind carries considerable risk of the patient delaying or forgoing conventional medical help, sometimes with fatal consequences.

Art and entertainment

• In the 1989 film Penn & Teller Get Killed, comedic magicians Penn and Teller demonstrate how to perform the illusion of psychic surgery.

• The song "Placebo Effect" by Siouxsie and the Banshees is about psychic surgery.

• In the TV show Criss Angel Mindfreak, Season 2 Episode "Sucker", Criss explains psychic surgery.

• In the 1999 movie Man on the Moon, a movie based on the life of Andy Kaufman, Kaufman receives Psychic surgery and notices its "trick".

Footnotes

1. Randi, James (1989). The Faith Healers. Prometheus Books. ISBN 0-87975-535-0.
2. David Vernon in Skeptical - a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, ed Donald Laycock, David Vernon, Colin Groves, Simon Brown, Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989, ISBN 0731657942, p47
3. "F.T.C. Curtails the Promotion Of All Psychic Surgery Tours" New York Times October 25, 1975 p. 27. (FTC: "nothing but a total hoax...") http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E17F73C5B157493C7AB178BD95F418785F9
4. "F.T.C. Curbs Philippines Flights For Cures by 'Psychic Surgery'"; New York Times March 15, 1975, p. 11 (Judge Hanscom: "pure and unmitigated fakery... simply phony")
5. http://www.randi.org/jr/021805a.html#5

See also

• Faith healing

External links

• James Randi debunks "psychic surgery"
• Unconventional therapies - Psychic Surgery — overview by the British Columbia Cancer Agency
• Psychic "surgery" — definition in the Skeptic's Dictionary
• The Facts About Faith Healing — article about fraud in faith healing.
• An Article on Alex L. Orbito - a believer's view.
• Fake Healing - a description of an event involving Mr. Orbito with editorial commentary.
• Abstract
• Repairs to Pangasinan’s pyramid to start next year, says healers group] Manila Times article on late-2004 status of Orbito's Pyramid of Asia
• "Psychic Surgery" (1990) Ca. Cancer J. Clin. 40(3) 184-8 Abstract Full text Terte/Agpaoa origins; exposed by Milbourne Christopher and Robert Gurtler.
• "Sideshows of Science," David Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, January 8, 2001; text. Reference to "psychic underground"
• 'Psychic surgeon' a heel, not a healer, police say Globe and Mail story on Orbito's 2005 arrest in Toronto
• Psychic surgeon charged Filipino Reporter story on Orbito's 2005 arrest in Toronto

• New Age
• Supernatural healing
• Psychic powers
• Spirituality
• Spiritism