num_pages: 371
description: Imagine undergoing an operation without anesthesia performed by a surgeon who refuses to sterilize his toolsor even wash his hands. This was the world of medicine when Thomas Dent Mtter began his trailblazing career as a plastic surgeon in Philadelphia during the middle of the nineteenth century.Although he died at just forty-eight Mtter was an audacious medical innovator who pioneered the use of ether as anesthesia the sterilization of surgical tools and a compassion-based vision for helping the severely deformed which clashed spectacularly with the sentiments of his time. Brilliant outspoken and brazenly handsome Mtter was flamboyant in every aspect of his life. He wore pink silk suits to perform surgery added an umlaut to his last name just because he could and amassed an immense collection of medical oddities that would later form the basis of Philadelphias Mtter Museum. Cristin OKeefe Aptowicz chronicles how Mtters efforts helped establish Philadelphia as a global mecca for medical innovationdespite intense resistance from his numerous rivals.
language: English
title: Dr. Mütter's Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine
publisher: Avery