Acupuncture analgesia can sometimes be considered as an alternative to drugs, but it cannot be considered as a universal replacement. There are certain cases, however, where acupuncture analgesia is better than drugs and this technique needs to be developed further in order to assess its true significance. In this article two Chinese doctors, one of whom has conducted twenty-four operations using acupuncture analgesia, assess the advantages and disadvantages of using the technique in surgery.