tomophobia

English

Etymology

tomo- +‎ -phobia

Noun

tomophobia (uncountable)

1. (neologism, rare) An unusual fear of surgeries or medical procedures involving cutting.
   • 2020 May 15, “What is tomophobia?”, in Tomophobia: When the Fear of Surgery and Other Medical Procedures Becomes a Phobia‎^[1]:

     Tomophobia is the fear of surgical procedures or medical intervention.

   • 2020 December 29, “Tomophobia: fear of medical procedures”, in Five common medical phobias‎^[2]:

     If you have tomophobia, it might be hard to get to the doctor at all; it’s the fear of surgical procedures and medical interventions.

   • 2009 November 18, “Introduction”, in Tomophobia, the phobic fear caused by an invasive medical procedure - an emerging anxiety disorder: a case report‎^[3]:

     Tomophobia refers to fear or anxiety caused by forthcoming surgical procedures and/or medical interventions.

   • 2021 February 16, Tomophobia - the fear that isn’t‎^[4]:

     Tomophobia is the fear or anxiety caused by forthcoming surgical procedures and/or medical interventions.

   • 2015 March 22, Anamika G. K., Making Khushi Mine, volume 2, Indic Publication, Incorporated, →ISBN, page 236, →ISBN:

     “Uncle, tomophobia is in your mind. Doctor is your friend. Trust them and let them give you anesthesia and after that you won't even feel a thing. And then Karan bhaiya will be present there too. How many people can boast of having a relative with them in the operation theater? You will be perfectly fine,” Rishabh said, like 50th time in the last hour that he was sitting in Raizada Mansion, but boy’s energy level refused to go down.

   • 2015 February 11, Michael Foxx, Spiteful Jack 2: Vengeance, Paragon Publishing, →ISBN, page 111, →ISBN:

     He wasn't keen on spiders and snakes, but his major one, the one that had always haunted and taunted him is referred to medically as tomophobia; the fear of surgical operations.

   • 2003, Spuddie, “You read it first here”, in alt.penpals.forty-plus-yrs‎^[5] (Usenet):

     Don't you mean tomophobia? I mean, why use magic when there's a perfectly good scalpel at hand? :)

References

• Thomas Szasz (1993) A Lexicon of Lunacy: metaphoric malady, moral responsibility, and psychiatry, New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 71, →ISBN: “tomophobia (f.^{[sic – meaning fear]} of surgical operations)”
• Richard Lederer (1989) Crazy English: the ultimate joy ride through our language, New York: Pocket Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →ISBN:

  (page 56):
  Here are more than two hundred additional words that describe the terrors that go bump in our mind: […]
  (page 62):
  […] tomophobia: surgical operations