General Surgery Flashcards
What were the three main problems with surgery in the early 1800’s?
Pain, Infection and Blood Loss
Why was surgery so painful at this time?
Surgery was painful because anaesthetics were only just being discovered meaning that there was no pain relief for the patients.
Why was infection such a big problem during surgery?
Infection was a big problem because the theory of hygiene had not been discovered yet, meaning that surgeons did not wash their hands before operating etc.
Why was blood loss such a major problem during surgery?
Blood loss was a major problem because when the patients lost blood there was no blood given to the patient to replace it as they had not discovered blood types yet.
What were the three main anaesthetics discovered during this time?
Laughing Gas (Nitrous Oxide), Ether and Chloroform.
Who discovered and named laughing gas and in what year?
Humphrey Davy in 1799.
Who was Horace Wells and how did he test laughing gas?
Horace Wells was a dentist who tested laughing gas on his patients when removing teeth.
What were the positive and negative effects of laughing gas?
The positive effects were that it would provide pain free surgery to patients, when given the correct dosage. However, the negative effects were that it did not knock out the patients and the correct dosage was not yet known.
Who was involved in the promotion of Ether and in what year?
John Collins Warren, John Snow and Robert Liston in 1846.
What were the positive and negative effects of Ether on patients?
The positive effects were that when sniffed, the patients was knocked out and therefore felt no pain during surgery. However, the correct dosage was not yet known and it made patients ill when used.
In what ways did Ether make its patients ill?
Vomiting, respiratory paralysis, sedation, dizziness and fatigue.
Who discovered chloroform as a form of pain relief and in what year?
James Simpson in 1847.
How was it discovered as this?
James Simpson, Dr Duncan and Dr Keith were sat around the table sniffing different chemicals until they found chloroform which knock them all out to James Simpson’s wife’s surprise.
Who were the two main people who massively boosted the use of chloroform and what did they have in common?
Queen Victoria and Mrs Dickens both used chloroform when giving birth to their eighth child.
What were the positive and negative effects of Chloroform on its patients?
Some of the positive effects of chloroform were that it knocked out its patients and therefore they felt no pain. However, the correct dosage was not yet known and furthermore there were many opposition to chloroform itself and the reasons it was used for.
Name the 3 groups to oppose Chloroform.
Surgeons themselves, Patients, Religious Groups.
Why did surgeons oppose Chloroform?
Surgeons such as Robert Liston, opposed the use of chloroform because they prided themselves at the time on how quickly they could operate. An example is Robert Liston’s speedy time of 28 seconds to amputate a leg.
Why did patients oppose the use of Chloroform?
Patients opposed the use of chloroform because it was untested and therefore the correct dosage was not yet known. This is supported by Hannah Greener’s death in 1848 due to an overdose of chloroform during an operation to remove a toenail.
Why did religious groups oppose the use of Chloroform?
James Simpson wanted chloroform to be used for pain relief during child birth. Religious groups opposed this because they believed that women suffered for a reason during child birth and that god intended it to be painful. Therefore, chloroform should not be used.
