James Simpson and the development of anaesthetics:

As with all surgery pain was inevitable. In this time, copious amounts of opium or alcohol were utilised in order to subdue a patient and make an operation quicker. Sir Humphrey Davy was one of the first to use nitrous oxide (laughing gas) as an anaesthetic to relieve pain during an operation. In 1846, Robert Liston used ether as an aesthetic when he successfully amputated a leg of a patient.

James Simpson (1811-70), a Scottish scientist, used chloroform to reduce pain at childbirth. He had experimented with chloroform on himself and his friends. There was opposition to these painkillers for a while, until Queen Victoria in 1853 used chloroform while giving birth. This managed to sway some opinions.

Then in the 1850's, coca leaves from Latin America were used to produce cocaine which acted as a local anaesthetic. The use of cocaine spread rapidly, especially in the 1890's when it started to be produced chemically.

Anaesthetics did not necessarily make operations safer, sometimes it was difficult to get the dose right and death would result from overconsumption.

The use of antiseptics:

It is widely known today that getting a cut requires treatment with antiseptic to prevent dirt getting on the wound and infection occurring. This knowledge is only a recent development in history though. In the 19th century, the biggest killer after surgery was sepsis ('hosptial gangrene'). This was infection caught during or after an operation. Surgeons themselves dismissed the idea that they were spreading infection through dirty clothes and unsterile equipment.

Ignaz Semmelweis pioneered antiseptics in 1847. He was the head of the maternity ward in Vienna General Hospital, Austria. The death rate in his maternity ward reduced from 35% to less than 1% through him insisting doctors wash their hands in calcium chloride before operating. However, very few hospitals introduced this procedure.

Joseph Lister:

Lister (1827-1912) was an English surgeon who advanced the chances of survival in surgery. Lister utilised an operating room sterilised with carbolic acid. This was based off his experiments on frogs. He also sterilised all surgical equipment and dressings with carbolic acid. The mortality rate in his operations reduced from 46% to 15% in three years. In 1871, he invented a device which sprayed carbolic acid over the entire operation room.

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