Surgery: A Groundbreaking Medical Advancement of all Time

Surgeries before the Victorian era was very brutal and painful for the patients and doctors. Many patients in surgery would bleed to death, die of shock, or of infected wounds and die of a common fever. Due to no known anesthesia, patients were given high amounts of alcohol to get rid of the pain but in reality it didn’t really do anything (viralnova ). The earliest surgical anesthetic was called ether. It put patients under but also caused vomiting and it was flammable. A clean operating room had a death rate of 1 in 10 patients, a dirty operating room had a death rate of 1 in 4 (viralnova ). Operating rooms were lit by candlelight so it was very difficult to see. Barbers carried out basic surgical task, when other surgeons were not around. Leeches were used as common practice to remove blood in the area the surgery would take place. This reduced the amount of people that bled out on the surgical table.

A surgical procedure is medical treatment that involves a physician cutting into a patient’s body to repair or remove something. Surgery procedures have existed since prehistoric man. In 1540 C.E. barbers and surgeons united to form The United Barber-Surgeons Company. These barber-surgeons performed tooth extractions and bloodletting procedures. As our knowledge grows, so do our abilities. Some procedures such as tracheostomy, described in detail by Paul of Aegina (625-690 AD), remain pertinent today while others

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]

Most future employees need to have attended at graduate school prior to becoming a Surgeon. Also, some employers require a Ph.D., M.D, and J.D from employees. Medical school and classes related to anatomy will prepare you for an intense career as a Surgeon. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Pharmacists, Hospitalists, and Nurse Midwives are all jobs that are related to a Surgeon. This field is projected to increase by 14% from 2014 to 2024. A surgeon earns $90.00 an hour which is a yearly pay of about $187,200 or more” (O*Net Online). Their working conditions are very bloody and intense, so employees need to be ready to experience all of that and keep their lunch in their stomachs.

Before the Industrial Revolution, the process of surgery was an unpleasant experience for the lives of many patients. It was rare that surgery was scheduled in advance and was only done in a “last and desperate resort”(Neurosurgical Service 1996). Historical surgical procedures could be seen as being barbaric today with going far back to Ancient Greece of cutting off the limb or drilling into the head to “rid the body of spirits” without any pain killer at all(Hartford Stage). This also becomes apparent in medieval ages in which most surgeons were also barbers and take care of soldiers by performing bloodletting. When the scientific revolution happened the studying of our anatomy allowed scientists to create ways of how to nullify the pain

Nowadays with all the jobs there are to offer there are so many good choices, but if I were to choose right now I would definitely try and go for the jackpot as a plastic surgeon. The average plastic surgeon makes a salary of greater than or equal to that of $208,000 or to be more precise around $150 an hour. To be able to even be at a brisk of this job you need a doctorate or professional degree.

About 313 million major surgical procedures are performed worldwide every year (Weiser et al 2015). In developed countries, the rate of permanent disability or death after such procedures is between 0.4 and 0.8% ( Minto and Bruce –Biccard 2014).

Most people do not think about or even know of how surgery came to be what it is today and even if they did know, they would not really care or think it matters. Well, they're wrong, because if it wasn't for the ancient times and eras such as the reconstruction period, surgery

Dominique Jean Larrey (1766−1842) played an important role in the enlargement of surgery. He was the leading military surgeon under Napoleon and an outstanding organizer. He was one of the earliest to perform the amputation at the hip-joint in 1803. Taking part in nearly all of Napoleon’s battles he created the famous “flying ambulances” (1792) to render immediate help to the wounded soldiers. The mortality rate of the French army was most remarkable. Larrey demonstrated his life time to contribute his experience in his work entitled: “Mémoires de medicine militaire (4 volumes, Paris, 1812−1817). Napoleon considered Larrey was the most honorable man he had ever known. He was truly the founder of modern military surgery.

Millions of Americans undergo elective surgery. For many years overnight fasting, up to 12 hrs had been the recommended routine before elective surgery. This practice was instituted to reduce gastric acidity and to reduce the gastric volume for the risk of aspiration of stomach contents and during anesthesia. Patients who had stayed NPO for twelve hours have an increase in anxiety, thirst and fatigue. The combination of anxiety, thirst and fatigue led to poor patient satisfaction and resulted in a longer recovery time, extending postoperative care in the hospitals. The American Society of Anaesthesiologist changed their guidelines in 1999, allowing patients to have clear fluids up to 2 hours before their surgery and nothing to eat up to 6

This surgical procedure is not so common and it is being applied as one of the new surgical treatments for the back pain. In this procedure an artificial disc is used to replace the damaged spinal disc, which is present between the vertebrae. This surgery permits continued spine mobility and can be done without spine

One of the most important and influential historical developments was the practice of surgery. The history of surgery involves the discovery and evolution of medical technology, techniques, and systems, which date back to the Egyptians. With this invention, human life became more sophisticated, people lived longer, and we obtained knowledge of our internal anatomy that we never thought possible. Lacking modern prescription drugs, accurate tools, computer technology, and any background experience to build from, our ancestors struggled to learn how to repair and care for the human body. They did a surprisingly competent job of treating the sick and injured. The knowledge we have today in regards to surgical techniques and tools is based on the discoveries of ancient pioneer surgeons and doctors dating back to the Egyptians and proceeding all the way through history until the late 19th century.

The term plastic, is derived from the Greek, “plastikos”, meaning “able to be moulded.” reference 1 The account of the first ever surgical procedure, which attempted to “mould” the human body can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians reference 2. There is reference to a procedure, within the ancient Egyptian surgical treatise, which is also known as the Edwin Smith Papyrus, which attempted to reconstruct the nose of an individual. However, it is the Bolognese surgeon, Gaspare Tagliocozzi (1545-1599) , who is widely accepted as the father of plastic surgery in the west, as it is thought, he was the first to perform, a surgical procedure, in the west, which would currently fall under the bracket of plastic surgery, in 1597 AD reference (4). The procedure, currently known formally as a rhinoplasty, is written about in detail within his works : De Curtorum

We live in a society where people worship beauty. As far as recorded history people have gone to extremes to seek beauty. From foot binding in China to wearing strangulating corsets in Victorian era. People from different race and culture have experimented in every way possible way to look beautiful prior to this popular age of plastic surgery. It’s very common to hear people complain about their appearance, whether it’s their crocked nose, thin lips or flat chest. Remarkably, plastic surgery has been the solution for people who complain. Most people tend to think of plastic surgery as only cosmetic surgery and not as reconstructive surgeries. Plastic surgeries seems to be an invention of modern technology; however its roots lie in the ancient history of India. An Indian surgeon contributed towards the establishment of plastic surgery, it was intended to correct physical deformities acquired during birth, accident, disease or war. These surgeries did not gain the popularity it has today until the First World War. It was during the late 60’s, when doctors started realizing the endless possibilities of plastic surgeries. With the help of this surgery a trained surgeon can replace an amputate body part, remove skin cancer, get rid of unattractive scars and visible birthmarks or rescaling a nose or enhance body parts. Today more and more people from different age groups opt for plastic surgeries to obtain dramatic physical changes. These surgeries were envisioned to restore

Surgery is “the branch of medicine concerned with the treatment of disease, injury, and deformity by operation or manipulation” (WHO 2014). However, this definition by the World Health Organization