First, I would say you would need to find a doctor to agree to the procedure being done like this.

In the case of Alex Lenkei, he put himself in a state of hypnosis, where he was unable to feel his arm. He "made a deal" with the doctors stating if he were to cry out in pain, they would immediately put him under.

Lenkei has been trained for 16 years on how to hypnotize people, not something I could imagine could be done by a newbie or someone with little experience.

"Dr Leon Gevertz, of the British Society of Medical and Dental Hypnosis, said that heart operations had been carried out under hypnosis.

Studies found that the practice relaxes the patient and can alter the perception of pain or increase the pain threshold.

However, it works only on those susceptible to the technique.

Mr Lenkei has taught students at the Royal College of Nursing how to induce hypnoanaesthesia and said he would consider undergoing further operations without anaesthetic."

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1063829.ece
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-560534/The-hypnotist-snubbed-anaesthetic-sent-trance-painful-bone-cutting-surgery.html
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In my opinion, if you don't want to be put to sleep, you can go with local anesthesia. It's still an anesthetic, but it only works on the specific area it's injected, rather than putting you under completely. Usually, after this kind of anesthesia, you're allowed to go home sooner than if you're under a general anesthetic because it doesn't affect the whole body.

As a nurse, I don't reccommend you trying to self-hypnotize unless you really know what you're doing and have a high pain tolerance, in case it doesn't work. Local anesthesia would probably be your best bet!
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There have been reported instances where surgery was necessary, but anesthesia was too risky. In those instances, accupuncture was used. It can be very effective, if done correctly by a good accupuncturist. There are also accupressure points on the ears that can help relax you.
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