Some years ago, a young woman arrived at a clinic in Redwood City, Calif., for surgery. She’d been attacked with a knife in her home twelve days before, and she was there for reconstructive work on her hand. As she told her doctors about the attack, she broke down in uncontrollable sobs. After surgery, however, when she woke up from anesthesia, she was happy and relaxed, says anesthesiologist Dr. Harrison Chow, who was part of her care team. While she was under, she had dreamed of being attacked.