The History of Surgical Technique Created by Jessica Linn and Rebecca Kraft
Dec 24, 2015
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/