Zé Arigó and the ‘Dr. Fritz’ surgical trance claims

Record summary

José Pedro de Freitas, known as Zé Arigó, claimed to channel the deceased German physician ‘Dr. Fritz’ and performed startling operations with simple instruments in Brazil during the 1950s and 1960s. The case attracted physicians, journalists, investigators and legal authorities, making it a useful lead for comparing healing claims, trance identity, suggestion, fraud hypotheses and medical testimony. Accounts differ substantially, and some demonstrations may have involved ordinary surgical skill, staging or inadequate observation. No extraordinary mechanism is established by the historical reports.