surgery

• surgery in 1800:

  • operations were very dangerous
  • no anaesthetic so surgeries were painful
  • patients would die from shock
  • infection spread in operating theatre
• • anaesthetics used in early 19th century were laughing gas and ester
  • laughing gas could not cure pain
  • ester irritated lungs and eyes
• development of anaesthetics:

  • developed in 1847 by James Simpson
  • wanted to ease pain during childbirth
  • discovered anaesthetic of chloroform
  • wrote about discoveries so other surgeons could use
  • 1848 - John Snow invented inhaler to measure dosage used to make use of chloroform more safer
  • pain relief allowed for longer and complex operations
• opposition to chloroform:

  • some surgeons preferred patients awake
  • religious people thought God wanted humans to experience pain
• black period of surgery:

  • pain relief allowed for longer and complex operations
  • but, longer surgeries meant infection developing deeper and more blood loss
  • number of deaths increased between 1850s-1870s
• it was not known that bacteria caused infection so:

  • handwashing before operation was not done
  • surgeons wore dirty clothes to operation
• development of antiseptics:

  • developed in 1867 by Joseph Lister
  • discovered how carbolic acid killed bacteria in open wounds
  • recommended:
  • doctors should wash hands in carbolic acid before operation
  • bandages soaked in carbolic acid
  • carbolic spray used to clean operating theatre
  • death rate of Lister's operations fell from 46% to 2%
• • Lister's antiseptic methods led to development of aseptic surgery
  • included:
  • cleaning operating theatres before and after surgery
  • surgeons wore sterilised gowns, masks and gloves
  • surgical instruments sterilised using steam