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Philippines
In the Philippines, the procedure was first noticed in the 1940s, when performed routinely by Eleuterio Terte. Terte and his pupil Tony Agpaoa, who was apparently associated with the Union Espiritista Christiana de Filipinas (The Christian Spiritist Union of the Philippines), trained others in this procedure.[3]
In 1959, the procedure came to the attention of the U. S. public after the publication of Into the Strange Unknown by Ron Ormond and Ormond McGill. The authors called the practice "fourth dimensional surgery," and wrote "[we] 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."[9]
Alex Orbito, who became well known in the U. S. through his association with actress Shirley MacLaine[10] was one said practitioner of the procedure. On June 14, 2005, Orbito was arrested by Canadian authorities and indicted for fraud.[11] On Jan 20, 2006, the charges were dropped as it then seemed unlikely that Orbito would be convicted.[12]
Psychic surgery made U.S. tabloid headlines in March 1984 when entertainer Andy Kaufman, diagnosed with large cell carcinoma (a rare lung cancer), traveled to the Philippines for a six-week course of psychic surgery.[13] Practitioner Jun Labo claimed to have removed large cancerous tumors and Kaufman declared he believed this cancer had been removed.[citation needed] Kaufman died from renal failure as consequence of a metastatic lung cancer, on May 16, 1984.[14]
Brazil
The origins of the practice in Brazil are obscure; but by the late 1950s several "spiritual healers" were practicing in the country.[citation needed] Many of them were associated with Kardecism, a major spiritualistic movement in Brazil[citation needed], and claimed to be performing their operations merely as channels for spirits of deceased medical doctors.[15] Others were following practices and rituals known as "Umbanda", a shamanic ritualistic religion with mediumistic overtones inherited from the African slaves brought to the country in colonial times.[citation needed]
A known Brazilian psychic healer who routinely practiced psychic surgery was Zé Arigó, who claimed to be channeling for a deceased medical doctor of name Dr. Fritz. Unlike most other psychic healers, who work bare-handed, Arigó used a non surgical blade.[16] Other psychic healers who claimed to channel for Dr. Fritz were Edson Queiroz and Rubens Farias Jr..[17] Popular today (especially abroad) is João de Faria, also known as João de Deus, a quack operating in Abadiânia, state of Goiás.[18]
According to the descriptions of Yoshiaki Omura, Brazilian psychic surgery appears to be different from that practiced in the Philippines. Omura calls attention to the fact that practitioners in Brazil use techniques resembling Qigong, Shiatsu massage, and chiropractic manipulation. Some patients are also injected with a brown liquid, and alleged minor surgery was performed in about 20% of the cases observed.[19] While Arigó performed his procedures using kitchen knives in improvised settings, Omura reports that the clamping of blood vessels and the closing of the surgical wounds are now performed by licensed surgeons or licensed nurses.[15]
Technology:
Psychic surgery is a pseudoscientific procedure typically involving the alleged creation of an incision using only the bare hands, the removal of pathological matter, and the spontaneous healing of the incision.
If yes, explain the voltage and amperage of the device.
If so, did it receive approval?
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