The Science of Psychic Surgery: Real Incisions or Sleight of Hand?

Health · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Practitioners claim to remove physical ailments from the body using only their hands, often leaving no scars behind. While many accounts describe a theatrical hoax involving fake blood and animal parts, some investigations have uncovered real surgical incisions made without any anesthesia or antiseptics.

Experts and doubters alike often classify psychic surgery as 'charlatanry' or a type of 'medical fraud.' This common account depicts a show where operators employ animal components, artificial blood, and manual tricks to lead sufferers into believing that diseased lesions were extracted. In these cases, the practitioner's hands appear to penetrate the skin painlessly, and the incision is said to heal spontaneously. Some accounts even involve 'exhibiting' objects like glass, claiming they were placed in the body by evil spirits.

However, research into specific practitioners, such as Brazilian surgeon João Teixeira de Farias, revealed a more complex reality. In an investigation of 30 surgical interventions involving cutting, researchers observed that the surgeon did indeed make real incisions into skin and ocular epithelium, as well as scraping the cornea. Notably, these procedures were performed without identified anesthetics or antiseptics. Despite the physical reality of the cuts, histopathology of extracted specimens—including a 210g lipoma—found them to be healthy tissues compatible with their site of origin, showing no discernible pathology.

The efficacy of these procedures remains unproven; researchers noted that the interventions did not appear to have any specific effect on the patients' conditions. While some practitioners may use hypnosis to explain a lack of pain during actual incisions, the practice is often criticized for potentially causing needless death by diverting patients from life-saving medical care. The phenomenon emerged in spiritualist communities in the Philippines and Brazil during the mid-20th century, with roots in folklore dating back as far as the 16th century.

Ultimately, while the 'miracles' are often attributed to a placebo effect or theatrical deception, the physical reality of some procedures poses significant risks. The lack of sterile technique—contrasting sharply with modern surgical standards established in the 19th century—highlights the danger of these unorthodox treatments.

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