“Mr. A , a seventy-six-year-old retire d World War II veteran with a five-year history of disabling knee pain from X-ray-documented degenerative osteoarthritis was assigned to the placebo group (sham surgery in which general anesthesia was given, superficial incisions were made in the skin over the knee, but no actual surgical repair was performed) . After the procedure, Mr. A was in formed that he had received sham surgery ; the procedure was described in detail. Nevertheless, he dramatically improved ; for the first time in years he was able to walk without a cane. When questioned, he both fully understood what sham surgery meant and fully believed that his knee had been fixed.
"The surgery was two years ago and the knee has never bothered me since. It's just like my other knee now. I give a whole lot of credit to Dr. Moseley. Whenever I see him on the TV, I call the wife in and say, 'Hey, there' s the doctor that fixed my kneel'"
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