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'''Psychic surgery''' is allegedly a [[paranormal]] [[surgery|surgical]] procedure. It is associated with the [[Philippines]] and performed by self-styled '''psychic doctors''' or '''psychic surgeons'''. Its practitioners claim it involves the extraction of "[[tumors]]" or other presumed pathological objects ([[pus]], [[bones]], and so on) from the patient's body through a bloody but painless and invisible "[[incision]]", often made with bare hands and without the use of [[antiseptic]]s or [[anesthetic]]s. Usually the practitioners claim special [[magical]] abilities.
The procedure was discredited by the U. S. [[Federal Trade Commission]] in 1975. In a unanimous opinion, the commission declared 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."▼
The website of practitioner Rev. Leony Romero describes the practice thus:
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Psychic surgeon Alex Orbito became famous in the U. S. through association with actress [[Shirley MacLaine]], who wrote about him in her best-selling book, ''Going Within: A Guide for Inner Transformation.'' In 1999 Orbito built the Pyramid of Asia Spiritual Healing Center in Cabanbanan, Manaoag, and from 1999 through 2004 conducted International Healing Festivals there. The 1999 inauguration was attended by [[Fidel V. Ramos]], former President of the Philippines. The center features an 200-meter-high pyramid, constructed entirely of wood and stone and containing no screws, nails, or any electrically conductive material at all. ([[As of 2005]] it requires extensive repairs due to termite damage). Orbito owns Orbit Tours and Travel Agency, which offers "tours of the Philippines for the purpose of encountering spiritual healer Rev. Alex L. Orbito."
▲The procedure was discredited by the U. S. [[Federal Trade Commission]] in 1975. In a unanimous opinion, the commission declared 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]] has repeatedly exposed psychic surgery as a fraudulent [[sleight-of-hand]] [[confidence trick]]. He has stated 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. He has shown how he can replicate the effects himself by sleight-of-hand. Professional magicians [[Milbourne Christopher]] and [[Robert Gurtler]] have also observed psychic surgeons' and claim to have spotted the use of sleight-of-hand.
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