Before the invention of anesthetics, surgery = no anesthesia + no hemostasis + no disinfection, and in that era, due to the war, there were many people who lacked arms and legs, severed limbs were bleeding non-stop, amputation surgery was imperative...
"The terrible trauma caused by falling off a horse, causing serious burns from a fire, milling machinery or heavy wheels; as well as fractures, contusions or lacerations that are most common among young people as a result of fighting, riots or wars
In this process, the patient is awake throughout the whole process, and it is likely that he is still struggling and wailing, so this requires the doctor's speed, fierceness, and accuracy, and there are not a few patients who die on the stage, and the surgical mortality rate at that time is about 50%, and whether it survives or not is the same as the probability of flipping a coin to guess the positive and negative. Surgeons can't go deep into patients to treat them, and if they're not careful, they'll die from massive blood loss, bacterial infections, and severe pain.
"Surgeons and assistants (all men, of course) wore everyday clothing, rolled up their sleeves, and made a big fuss about patients who were always sober in the face of trials. To reduce pain, shock, and blood loss, surgery is performed quickly, but mortality remains high. ”
At that time, many doctors moved the operating room to the circular theater to show the audience the "three noes" operation scene without anesthesia, no disinfection, and difficulty in hemostasis. At the same time as teaching, it also sells tickets to curious people to make a profit.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" > surgical procedures with a mortality rate of 300%.</h1>
So, at that time, the doctors set a series of terrible records, and the Russian surgeon Pirrogov could saw off his thighs in three minutes and cut off his breasts in half minutes. French doctor Jean Dominic Larry performed amputations for 200 patients in 24 hours.
The famous medical scientist Robert Liston created a 300% mortality operation, Robert Liston was a pioneer in Scottish surgery, he invented the transparent gelatin stick plaster, Bulldog forceps (a type of locking artery forceps) and leg splints to stabilize femoral dislocations and fractures, which are still used today. In addition, he is named after the Liston knife. He also performed europe's first modern anesthesia procedure with ether.
However, it is such a famous scientist, and the most talked about is the operation with a mortality rate of 300%. He is known for his extremely fast surgery, and in terms of seeking speed, he can be said to have achieved the pinnacle of perfection, the real Little Lee (Ston) flying knife. At that time, he not only had fast hands, but also had good physical strength, and he was 1.88 tall, and amputation surgery only needed an assistant to help him press his leg. The famous surgeon amputated a leg in just 28 seconds, and he once cut a 45-pound scrotal tumor in 4 minutes, creating all sorts of legends.
To this end, he also published "Practical Surgery", which demonstrates the importance of rapid surgery; "These operations must be started with determination and completed quickly." ”
It is said that every time the famous medical scientist performed every operation, he would excitedly shout at everyone: "Time me, gentlemen, time!" ”
Of course, fast means that the number of mistakes may be more, and he once again cut the patient's leg within two and a half minutes, but also cut the patient's egg due to excessive force; a teenager with a festering neck, due to Liston's overconfidence, led to misdiagnosis, when he cut the affected part with a knife, the teenager immediately squirted blood and died.
At that time, he saw down, the leg was broken, but at the same time, the finger of the assistant who helped to help the patient's leg was cut off, and the patient who cut off the leg at a rapid speed died of infection the next day (which was quite common at the time), and his assistant was cut off by his hand and died of infection; another innocent victim was a famous doctor who was watching the operation, who was stabbed between his legs and died of shock due to fear.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="40" > summary</h1>
Of course, at that time, surgery was originally a life-threatening act, but a knife went down and took 3 lives, which also created a historical record.
After this, Liston took the lead in using ether as an anesthetic, and his record of cutting a leg in 28 seconds was completed in this operation, it can be said that Liston promoted the popularization of anesthesia, and then, with the popularization of disinfection technology, the surgery was also moved back from the theater back to the operating room.
Looking back at the history of surgical development over the past two hundred years, we will find how the journey of humanity and the fight against disease has changed rapidly, and the milestones left by countless ancestors on this glorious thorny road full of sweat and painstaking efforts.