Surgery 1861-1900: Antiseptics Flashcards
Why were surgery conditions before 1861 so bad?
Give 3 reasons.
- Hand washing involved dipping hands in dirty water or no handwashing at all
- Nothing would be cleaned, this included the instruments (tools), table and operating room.
- Surgeons would wear there oldest coat as a status symbol without cleaning it. This was often covered in blood.
Who made a/antiseptic discoveries before
1861? Give two names with a description of what they did.
- Florence Nightingale revolutionised hospitals and therefore surgery conditions. Some of her implemented ideas included proper light and ventilation for hospitals; keeping only one person per hospital bed and generally ensured high hygiene within other nurses
- Ignaz Semmelweiss noticed that Women giving birth had a much higher survival rate when attended to by midwives as opposed to doctors. After research he concluded that it was because doctors attended autopsies before helping the pregnant women. He then instructed doctors to wash their hands with chlorinated water, it didn’t catch on however as he was arrogant and had no substantial proof or explanation, despite death rates falling. This was in 1846
Who successfully introduced antiseptic techniques in surgery after Florence Nightingale? When?
Joseph Lister in 1867.
Where did Joseph Lister get his ideas on germs from?
Pasteur’s germ theory, published in 1861.
What two things did Joseph Lister implement that made surgery antiseptic?
- Carbolic spray operated with a donkey engine. He got the idea after seeing them in the sewers and comparing the smells of sewers and hospitals. This was in 1867.
- Cat gut was introduced as a stitching alternative to silk, it could be sterilised but Carbolic spray could not be sterilised
In the 1890’s antiseptic surgery was common, what did it develop into?
Aseptic surgery (Surgery without germs)
Why did people oppose Joseph Lister?
- He changed/rewrote his theories constantly, leading people to believe that he is not trustworthy and is making mistakes.
- Carbolic spray was annoying, corroded surgeons hands and slowed down surgery significantly.
- Other surgeons did not see the same results as they were not systematic enough
- People mocked germ theory as thought that tiny microbes causing infection was ridiculous
- Joseph Lister himself had poor people skills as was cold, aloof and arrogant.
- Surgeons found it too shocking that people didn’t have to die from surgery and rejected his ideas
How was the problem of carbolic acid cracking people’s hands solved?
Halsted developed gloves in 1894 for his wife. They caught on.
Who developed a similar machine to Lister’s? When?
In 1878 Koch (of ATC fame) developed the steam steriliser
