If you've had surgery, and even if you haven't, it's difficult to imagine undergoing the procedure without drugs or anesthesia. But a Detroit-area man says he's living proof that alternative therapies can get anyone through surgery.

Dr. Michael Seidman is used to giving patients a diagnosis. But when he injured his knee in a wake-boarding accident, Seidman was told he needed surgery.

Sideman did not have your run-of-the-mill procedure. He underwent surgery without anesthesia.

"I wanted to do this for myself because I wanted to try an integrated form of therapy. I wanted to try something that's not considered conventional, and I wanted to see if it worked," Sideman said.

He used hypnosis and acupuncture to relieve the pain.

"He's very in tune with my voice. I use my voice to coach him and to work with his mind to lower the sensation intensity," said hypnotherapist Robert Levine of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

Seidman was awake through the two-hour invasive surgery. His acupuncturist, Ramon Nunez, used a small device to help stimulate tiny acupuncture needles, while Levin helped with Seidman's mental preparation.

Despite the discomfort of the operation, Seidman said he needed no general anesthesia, even though an anesthesiologist was on standby in case his pain became too intense.

"I thought we would make it through the knife hitting the skin. I thought we would make it through the first 10 minutes or so. I did not believe we would make it through the entire procedure," Sideman said.

Not only did he endure the surgery, but he was back to work just days later.

He said he feels great.

Doctors said further study is needed to determine the effectiveness of surgery without anesthesia, but one day it may become routine practice.