Let patients listen to music, says surgeon

♦ Patients should be offered the chance to listen to music so that they are less anxious during operations, a leading surgeon says.

A review, published in the Journal of Urolog y, of 15 studies in Southampton found that urology patients who were distracted by music had lower levels of pain and anxiety in 90 per cent of studies, while overall satisfaction was better in 53 per cent of them. Bhaskar Somani, a consultant urological surgeon at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, said it was a “practical, cheap and harmless” intervention. “I think there is a very strong case for all patients to be offered, at the very least, the option of music as an additional therapy when undergoing procedures,” he said.