The spectator fell over, dying immediately of fright. Then as he brought his knife back up, he slashed the coat of a spectator. As he moved with lightning speed, he accidentally cut off the fingers of the assistant who had been holding the patient down. Liston was performing another leg amputation. During one leg amputation, he accidentally castrated a patient in his haste to remove the limb. Unfortunately, other times it backfired dramatically. Liston would tell the audience “Time me gentlemen, time me!” to put his legendary speed to the test.įor the most part, his speed helped patients survive. Many surgeries of the time were carried out in an operating theater, a room in a hospital or university where spectators could watch. People drawn by this reputation would sit in his waiting room for days, hoping to be seen. When you are enduring surgery while awake and aware, you want a surgeon who will get it done quickly. Liston was famous for his incredible surgical speed and could amputate a leg in only two and a half minutes. The other factor in his survival rate was a matter of great pride for Dr. These small efforts at obtaining a cleaner surgical environment doubtlessly saved the lives of many of his patients. Liston not only washed his hands, he washed his medical instruments between surgeries as well. Many people fell ill and died from the resulting infections.ĭr. It was considered finicky and prudish to be preoccupied with cleanliness, and surgeons would often go from one surgery to another covered in blood and pus from their previous operations. In those days, surgeons wore their bloodied aprons proudly. His success stemmed from two different factors. Liston? Only one in ten of his patients died. One in four people died after surgery, either on the operating table or from infection after. Patients were conscious as they were operated on and surgeries needed to be as fast as possible to minimize pain, panic, and blood loss. In the days before anesthesia, surgeries were a dangerous and traumatic affair. Liston was an English surgeon, and one of some renown. It was a fascinating time of scientific advancement and discovery, and one of the doctors operating during this time period was Dr. This exhibit chronicles the changing field of medicine throughout the 19th century, including the advent of anesthesia, germ theory, and diagnostic instruments like x-ray machines and stethoscopes. A new exhibition has recently opened at the Bruce Museum: The Dawn of Modern Medicine: Selections from the Medical Artifact Collection of M.
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