The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1895-10-19
The Advance in Surgery.
Written for the Democratic Advocate.
BN MEMO

BY MEMO.
The death of the eminent bacteriologist
Louis Pasteur, has spread abroad much
information regarding his patient and eX
haustive researches into silk worm and vine
diseases and into hydrophobia. There is
also Il vague general idea of his influence
upon modern surgery and medicine His
removal forms very fitting reason for
brief survey of the progress of surgery in
the last half century and of Pasteur in
huence upon it. This general truth is be
yond dispute: During the last fifty years
operations have lost nearly all their terrors
and dangers, and within twenty-five years
surgery has been practically revolutionized.
y few leading data will make this clear.
In 1872 Dr. Morton. dentist. ad
mnistered ether for the first time in the
Massachusetts General Hospital while DIR.
Warren performed a small operation.
In 1917, Sir James Simpson communi
Gated to the Medico- Chirurgical Society Of
Edinburgh his discovery of the value of
chlorofom in producing insensibility during
an operation.
Between 1857 and 1865. Pasteur pub
lished his essays on the causes Of putrefac
ton and fermentation. He established
the fact, beyond peradventure, that these
processes were due to micro o-organisms.
The first to grasp the possibilities of
Pasteur' discoveries was Sir Joseph Lis
ter. He recognized at once the influence
Of germs upon wounded surfaces and be
name the founder Of antiseptic surgery or
ListerlSm.
Another advance was made i'll 1882 by
Robert Koch who demonstrated the in
nocuous quality of pure air and the fact
that none of the microbes in the air would
multiply unless provided with the proper
soil
Upon the definite knowledge thus gained,
is based the most modern system Of surg
cry, the Aseptic, an ideal method in COM
parison with those formerly in vogue.
\ few general remarks with some un-
avodable statistics will convince your
readers, believe that there is no propriety
in sighing for good old times along
surgical lines. The discoveries Of the valu-
| able qualities of ether chloroform. coca
inc. ETC., have rendered operations abso-
lutely painless. 1t is hardly necessary to
enlarge upon the vastness of this gain. ex-
! cept to remark that the removal of pain
has largely decreased the mortality from
operations; for pain in itself, by its shock
to the nerves and its depressing influence
upon the heart, will cause death. This
divine anaesthesa Ga word coined by the
way, by that gentle sage Dr., Oliver Wendell
Holiness has removed much of the neces
sity for hurrying in an operation, and
furthermore. it has almost entirely done
away with the physical depression antece-
dent to an operation. In the old days. if
an operation required perfect muscular re-
taxation. the patient was purged, sweated.
given rectal injections of tobacco infusions,
etc. so as to render him limp and inert.
Now the same result is attained in few
moments. The patient glides off into Il
blessed condition of mot feeling accom-
panied by perfect muscular relaxation.
Many modern surgeon has never seen an
operation performed except under anaeS
thetics; should he do 50, it would be a
startling experience for him, Struggling,
screamIHg. biting, scratching and cursing,
many IA poor wretch in the past has been
forced to submit to the cruel kindness of
the surgeon Finally the use of ether and
chloroform is practically less risky than
900 mile railroad journey. According
to ii statement in a late issue of the ''Medl-
cal Record. Professor Guret of Re4fSn has
found that in 81. SOB cases Vi chloroform
narcosis, 23 deaths resulted, and in ZIP
cases of ether Rarcosis, } deaths.
Coming now to Pasteur. the father of
the germ theory of disease, and the bear
inc of his discoveries upon modern surgery,
we are conscious of tremendous economy
of life. Prior to his work and the immedi-
ate adoption of many of its details by Sir
Joseph Lister, suppuration was practically
inevitable after an operation. In fact.
there were not lacking surgeons 10 defend
suppuration as ludahIe. The hospit-
ais of the day fairly reeked with cry
sipelas and pyemia (blood poisoningl.
Any hospital patient with an open wound
was fortunate to escape with suppura
ton only. Ip MeSsbaum's clinic in
Mupich. prior to antiseptic methods, eighty
per cent. of all wounds were attacked
by hospital gangrene. Now many
physician goes through his entire course
without seeing or even hearing of any
gangrenous result of an operation. 4
compound fracture prior to 1876 meaat
almost sure death from blood poisoning
etc. In Valkmann clinic IN Halle, the
mortality following sAmpOund fracture was
forty pey cent !; in the ObuchOw hospital of
1T. Petersburg. in pre- Listerian days, the
death rate from this cause was 68 per cent.
in LOG cases; in the Pennsylvania hospital
from 1S31-1851 the death rate WAS "A
per cent. in ll6 cases; in New York Hos
pital during the same period the mortality
was 4S per cent. IN l2G cases. What now
is the peFcentage2 Professor Dennis of
New York, has reported 1000 cases of
compound fracture treated in several hospi
taIs. The deaths from blood poisoning
have been only one-seventh of one per
cent.
A few lines will suffice, | think, to make
clear to your readers the difference between
LISTERS procedure in operations. and the
Aseptic method of the present, though the
two systems have much in common. In
this connection it is right to say, however,
that no matter how far we have travelled