History - Surgery Flashcards
(56 cards)
What were the three main problems of surgery?
Pain
Infection
Blood loss
Why was it difficult to work with the patient during an amputation without anaesthetic?
The patient would scream and try to escape
Who invented laughing gas (Nitrous Oxide) and when?
Humphrey Davey in 1799
What were some disadvantages of laughing gas?
It did not completely knock out the patient
What were some disadvantages of Ether?
Made you vomit
Explosive and flammable
Irritates eyes and lungs
When was Ether discovered?
1846
Who discovered chloroform?
James Simpson
How was chloroform discovered?
Simpson and his colleagues were experimenting with different chemical and when they took chloroform, they had passed out within two minutes.
What is an advantage of chloroform?
It would knock the patient out or send them to sleep if inhaled
What were some disadvantages of chloroform?
Many people didn’t remember a thing afterwards
It would make women sexually excited
Who died in 1848?
Hannah Greener
How did Hannah Greener die?
Overdose of chloroform during an operation on her toe
Why did people oppose the use of chloroform?
Hannah Greener’s death of overdose
Many people felt it was not natural and that God wanted women to endure the natural pain of birth
Many prided themselves on the speed of operations, anaesthetics meant speed was no longer important
What was written in the letter to The Lancet in 1849?
“The infliction of pain has been invented by Almighty God. Pain may be considered a blessing of the gospel.”
What was written in the letter to the medical journal The Lancet in 1853?
“Anaesthetic is most unnatural. The pain and sorrow of child birth exert a most powerful and useful influence upon the religion and moral character of women.”
What was the Black Period of surgery?
1847-1867
Period between anaesthetics (1847) and antiseptics (1867) when things got worse in surgery
What were some advantages of general anaesthetics?
Surgeons began to take more time over operations and were able to work deeper inside the body, developing new operations that saved more lives
Research into using chloroform more effectively began
Local anaesthetics were developed
Was pain free
Research meant better anaesthetics which relaxed muscles and put people to sleep = fewer side effects than chloroform
Who was Semmelweiss?
Realised more illnesses were spread in wardens such as birth wardens as mothers and other patients were dying
Doctors did not wash their hands or wash aprons before doing another operation
Publicly said it was important to wash hands to prevent spread of disease
Why did people oppose Semmelweiss?
People believed washing hands before performing surgery was not important
Had no reason as to why it was important
Was unlikely he did as it wasn’t until after the black period that the discovery of germs was made
Many people died from infection even after a successful operation. What did surgeons believe caused this?
After recognising the high death rate, many surgeons believed it was due to the weakness of the patient
What was another name for Carbolic Acid?
Donkey engine
Disadvantages of carbolic spray?
Went everywhere Cracked surgeons skin Made everything smell Made operations more expensive Took more time
What did Robert Lister discover?
Infection would not develop in a wound if the dressing and bandage were soaked in carbolic acid before use
Despite the survival rate with Lister’s patients increasing afterward the use of carbolic acid, why did some surgeons oppose his methods?
Did not always work
Always changed
Didn’t always have the same results
