Open-Drop Technique: Anesthesia Used In Surgery

Surgical procedures were as simple as having two assistants pinning the patient down while the surgeon cut off the soldier's wounded limb. These surgical procedures were usually done by a butcher. Wounds were caused by muskets or the bayonet. In order for the wounds to be treated, in a surgical procedure, the surgeon would use his amputation knife to cut down to the bone of the damaged limb. Only thirty-five percent of the patients who went through this procedure survived and the rest died due to shock, loss of

The two main types of Anesthesia the doctors used was either chloroform or ether. The doctors usually did one of

One good thing that resulted from the Civil War was the rise of knowledge and use of modern anesthesia. This anesthesia came in two forms, chloroform and ether. Those patients that anesthesia was used on had a higher survival rate than those where it was not available. Before the war, alcoholic drinks, opioids and bite blocks were used to keep a patient controlled during surgery. These options did not completely eliminate pain causing stress and trauma. At the time of the Civil War, it was considered cowardly to undergo surgery using anesthetic. Anesthesia was usually used for women and children. Use of anesthesia did not go without risk. Surgeons had to practice to figure out adequate dosages which took a period of trial and error sometimes resulting in overdose and death. Although uncivilized at times, medical care during the Civil War helped bring on a new age of modern medicine.

Unfortunately, this practice caused more problems for the patients, such as death. During the Civil War, anesthesia, a drug used to numb the body was introduced to make procedures manageable for the patient and the doctor. Due to the

Another way anesthesia improved healthcare was through continued public acknowledgement of its versatility. It also led to new discoveries in the medical field and impacted the rest of America's medical-related future. First off, it was widely used in the Crimean War over in Europe from 1853-1856. Because of anesthesia's success in the Crimean War, American physicians read up on the use of chloroform through pamphlets and documents that detailed how chloroform was used in the Crimean War and how it was used in civilian practices (Devine). As the war raged on, it soon became a common realization, after trial and error, that doctors should use chloroform during surgical operations when needed. By the end of the Civil War, Union records showed

One of the techniques doctors in civil war hospitals used was a drug called anesthesia.

The role of the nurse anesthetist gradually developed as the demand increased for individuals who were highly and meticulously trained in anesthesia administration in an era where knowledge of germs, antisepsis and surgical interventions was emerging. During the 1800s, medical students were often responsible in the administration of anesthesia under the direct supervision of surgeons but the increased mortality rates in intraoperative patients suggested the need to reevaluate who would provide anesthesia. As a result of negative patient outcomes, surgeons turned to nurses, who served to be an adequate and reliable replacement. This trend proved to be catalytic in the movement of the nurse anesthetist.

(History of Nurse Anesthesia Practice. 2010, May), (Koch, E., Downey, P., Kelly, J. W., & Wilson, W. 2001).

Surgery was always considered a somewhat brutal specialty by many at the time and its development was always limited by pain and infectious complications. Abdominal surgery was almost always fatal, and even cases that seemed fairly accessible to surgeons were often failures. [7] In 1812 an article described the catastrophic failure of surgeons to treat meningoceles showing that most children undergoing the procedure died of septic complications. It was later in 1846 that Henry Biglow published an article based on the work of William Morton describing the groundbreaking use of inhaled anesthesia and its use in transforming the surgical field. [8]

Being told that something is wrong with you can be scary. Getting surgery performed on you can be terrifying. Patients that must be undergo anesthesia could become apprehensive about the whole procedure. But what helps is knowing that there is an anesthetist with you along the way. The anesthetist informs the patient of the surgery and attempts to calm their nerves before surgery. The anesthetist monitors and ensures the patient is stable during the surgery and informs the patient of the result of the surgery after the surgery. Essentially, the sole person that is concerned about the body as a whole during the surgery is the anesthetist. Two years ago, I had no idea what an anesthesiologist assistant was or that this highly skilled profession

Anesthesiologists give patients anesthetics in a variety of ways, such as “orally, intravenously, by gas or direct injection to render patients insensible to pain Anesthesiologists typically maintain the same daily schedule a surgeon follows, participating in both scheduled and unscheduled operations. Anesthesiologists are responsible for determining the proper anesthetic and dosage level for each patient. They monitor the patients progress prior to, during, and after surgery.”(“Anesthesiologist” 31)

Anesthesia is the loss of feeling or sensation. It may be accomplished without the loss of consciousness, or with partial or total loss of consciousness. Anesthesia has not been around forever, but there is a background history of its creation and the primitive anesthetics used before anesthesia was discovered. Today there are many different anesthetics and delivery methods dependent to the type of procedure. Anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists are a crucial part of the surgical team. Without anesthesia where would we be today?

Anesthesia was developed in order to block or prevent pain during medical procedures. Anesthesia has been the backbone of the medical world for around 100 years now. Early anesthetics were primitive and many patients simply did not trust anesthetics. Anesthesia is still a risky process even in todays advanced medical world. Anesthesia is not used to treat or diagnose any specific disease; the sole purpose is to aid both the patient and surgeon through procedures. However, anesthesia is used in different ways based on the magnitude of the procedure. There are three levels of anesthesia which include; local, regional, and general anesthesia. An anesthesiologist determines which type of anesthesia will be needed.

First everyone had to put on a mask, wear surgical head covers, proper scrubs, and shoe covers. Inside the operation room, the surgeon and scrub tech had to put on a sterile attire, which included sterile scrubs,gloves, and equipment because they were the first people to have contact with patient. The circulator or documenting nurse and anesthesiologist were around the sterile field (aseptic technique) without any contact with the patient whatsoever. As you would have guessed, the surgeon was the one who performed the surgery with the help of the scrub tech and monitored by the circulator nurse and anesthesiologist. The main duties of the circulator nurse was to document everything during the surgery from what medications used to how many sterile dressings were used, proving supplies to the surgeon and the scrub tech as needed,and making sure the room was prepare for the assigned surgery. This nurse also provides conform measurements for the patient while in the operation room. For instance, there was a patient who was too big for the operation bed, so the circulator nurse had to find additional supplies that would prevent the patient from sliding down the bed. Nurses always provide the finest education towards their line of duty but also take the time to teach those people who starting the nursing

As a leader and a manager, I continued to read a lot of articles on transformational leadership. I subjected myself to taking a lot of questionnaires on leadership prepared by popular leaders such as Blanchard, Gladwell, Maxwell, Burns, Riggio and Bass.