The History of Surgical Technique

Created by Jessica Linn and Rebecca

Kraft

OriginsSurgeryChirurgery

Latin: Chirurgia

Greek: Cheir = hand + ergon = work

Early Methods‡ Trephination

† Operation performed since the Stone Age

† Circular section carved away, leaving a hole in the skull

† Done as a treatment for abnormal behaviors, such as hallucinations

† Based on perception that evil spirits needed releasing

Sixth Century‡ Susruta

† Learned surgery and medicine from Divodasa Dhanvantari

† Practiced the Indian medical tradition of Ayurveda (Ayurveda means science of life)

† Recognized as the father of plastic surgery† First to advocate the cesarean operation† Help to fashion surgical instruments, such

as crocodile or hawkbill forceps

Galen‡ Most famous surgeon of Roman

times‡ At 28 was surgeon to a school of

gladiators‡ In 161 AD became surgeon to the

Emperor‡ Dissected many animals to study

nerves, muscles and bone structure‡ His medical books were highly

influential for the next 1200 years

1100 AD‡ Albucasis

† Born in Spain, part of Islamic empire† Wrote encyclopedia of medicine† Became standard text in Europe

‡ Roger Frugardi† Wrote first Western book on surgery in

1170† Used seaweed patches like the present

day iodine therapy

Medieval‡ Leonardo da Vinci

† Dissected corpses and made pencil drawings of his findings

† Among the first to contradict Galen† Medical findings were never published

and did not impact the field

Middle Ages‡ War Surgeons

† Sought new pain medications, such as opium and mandrake, to make sleepy during surgery

† Wine was found to help heal wounds (alcohol is a mild antiseptic)

‡ Wound Man† A figure used to show various

wounds a person might suffer in battle or accidents

† Injuries would range from blows to the head, stab wounds and bites by snakes and insects

Middle Ages‡ Andreas Vesalius

† Discovered the human anatomy through human dissection

‡ Ambrose Pare† Advocated the use of ligatures to tie of

blood vessels† Used mixture of eggs, oils of roses and

turpentine to cure gun powder wounds

Barber Surgeons‡ 17th Century England‡ Procedures included pulling teeth to

amputation‡ Anesthesia consisted of a knock on

the head with a wooden hammer‡ They would wrap bloody rags around

a pole to signify that they were open for business

Anesthetics‡ In the 1840s pain was first effectively

eliminated during surgery‡ Ether vapor was used for a patient

who had a tumor removed from his neck

‡ Chloroform became a popular choice after Queen Victoria used it in childbirth

Joseph Lister‡ The history of surgery maybe divided

into two parts, before and after Lister ‡ Described muscles in the eye, as well

as muscles attached to hair follicles‡ Introduced antiseptic techniques

† Used carbolic acid to lower infections in wounds

‡ Invented the sinus forceps, aortic tourniquet, wire needle and catgut ligature

1800s‡ 1863 Mayo Clinic is

founded by William Worell Mayo and is later joined by his two sons in practice

‡ 1895 X-rays were discovered by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen

Blood‡ James Blundell had some success in

transferring blood directly from donor to recipient in the early 1900s

‡ Karl Landsteiner discovered four different types of blood.† They were later named O, A, B, and AB

‡ By the 1930s blood could be separated into plasma and red blood cells, which could be stored longer

Mid 1900s‡ Surgery had become less painful, but

many still died from post-op infections‡ Anti-biotics came about in the 1940s

† First antibiotic was discovered in 1928 by Alexander Flemming

† Penicillin

‡ Howard Florey successfully extracted pure penicillin from mold juice in large amounts to make it applicable in medicine

First Heart Transplant‡ Was done in 1967‡ By Christiaan Barnard in South Africa‡ Patient survived operation for 18

days, but died of pneumonia‡ Barnard’s longest surviving patient

lived for 24 years after the surgery‡ By 1984 heart transplant surgery

was almost commonplace

Benjamin Carson‡ After med school he became a

neurosurgery resident at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore

‡ At age 32 became hospital’s Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery

‡ In 1987 he made medical history with an operation to separate a pair of Siamese twins† 70 member surgical team† Worked for 22 hours

Works Cited

Benjamin Carson. (2008, June 16). Academy of acheivement [biography]. Retrieved December 3, 2009,

from http://www.achievment.org

Christiaan Barnard. (n.d.). Encarta. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from http://encarta.msn.com/

encyclopedia_761577058/Christiaan_Barnard

History of the mayo clinic. (1996). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved December 3, 2009, from

http://www.diavlos.gr/orto96/ortowww/historym.htm

History of surgery. (2009). The Operation: Surgery Live - Channel 4 [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved

December 1, 2009, from http://www.channel4.com/explore/surgerylive/history.html

Kuhlenschmidt, S. (1996, June). Trephination. In Western Kentucky University. Retrieved December 1,

2009, from http://web2.wku.edu/~sally.kuhlenschmidt/whimsy/trephin.htm

Medevil Times. (n.d.). Surgery Times. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.surgerytimes.com/

history/middle.html

Susruta. (n.d.). World Famous Biography. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from google website:

http://profiles.incredible-people.com/

Trepanation. (n.d.). encefalus [photo]. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Encefalus website:

http://encefalus.com/neurology-biology/self-trepanation/