The boy, Wang Wenbin, was the youngest patient in China ever to undergo the needle-based procedure, under which doctors are able to cut the dosage of traditional anesthetic drugs by one-fifth to one-third and allow the patient to breathe by himself instead of using a respirator, the hospital said yesterday.

During surgery, doctors at Shanghai Shuguang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital inserted needles at several points on the hands and the chest.

The advantage is that general anesthesia requires a large dose of an anesthetic and creates possible adverse side effects in the brain, especially for a child patient. It also risks lung infection associated with the use of a respirator.

"After starting the practice in late 2005, we have promoted it for surgeries of the heart, brain, abdomen and nose, and broadened patients' age range," said Dr Shen Weidong, director of the Shuguang hospital's acupuncture department. "Doctors, however, must carefully choose the patients for acupuncture anesthesia."

Wang's medical problem - a hole between two cavities of the heart - was discovered at birth. He didn't receive surgery earlier because the family wasn't able to raise the required 30,000 yuan (US$4,367) in medical expenses.

He was admitted to the Shuguang hospital last month with severe chest discomfort and underwent the surgery on August 3.

Doctors said he is recovering very well and will grow up normally after the operation.

"As a national research base for acupuncture anesthesia, our hospital is working on a guideline for acupuncture anesthesia practice and patient selection for domestic hospitals" Shen said.

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