The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-12-27
ADVANCE IN SURGERY
HOW 1T DIFFERS NOW FROM WHAT 1T
WAS FIFTY YEARS AGO.

rs Pain In the Operation First Uso of
Ether by DIR. William =. &. Morton.
ono of the most interesting papers
read ut the celebration i'll Boston of the
iiftleth anniversary of the first adminis-
tration of ether i'll a surgical operation,
says the Philadelphia Record, was that
by DR.. John Ashhurst of this city OH
Surgery Before the Days of AnTsthct-
les . 1t wildly recalls tho horrors of
those days when the surgeon S knife was
an object of far greater terror than now
and inflicted untold torturcs upon tho
conscious patient.
y study of tho condition of surgery
before the days of an;rsthesia, - said DR..
Ashhurst. reveals OH the one hand a
picture of heroic boldncss and mastery
self control on the part of the surgeon,
and on the other CHASTITY panorama,
sometimes of stole fortitudc and endur.
ancc, sometimes of abicct terror and hui
mlliation-but always of agonizing
wretchcdnoss and paiil-on tho part Of
the unhappy victim who required the
surgeons aid.
The 'pitilcssness' which Ccicus urged
as IN essential trait i'll the operative sur
gcon was, before the days of ancsthcsia,
Il feature i'll tho surgeons career which
impressed very strongly the public gen
orally us we'll as those immediately con.
nectcd with the operation 1t is inter.
cSting to recall thar Sir James Simpson
OF Edinburgh, shortly after beginning
his professional studies, was so affected
by seeing the terrible agony Of u poor
Highland woman under amputation of
the breast that he resolved TO abandon
II medical career and seek other occupa.
ton. Happily his intention was recon-
sidcred, ana he returned to his studies
asking himself, Can anything be done
to make operations less pninful?' ard,
as every one knows, III less than 20
years he became a high priest of anns
thcsla and the intr0ducer into surgical
and obstetrical practice Of ether's great
rival, chloroform
No Drawer or more gallant gentle.
man ever lived than Admiral Viscount
Nelson, and after his right elbow had
been shattered by French bullet in the
assault ut Tcncrifc hc manifested the
utmost courage, refusing TO be taken to
the nearest ship lest the sight of his i'll
Jury should alarm the wife of u fellow
officer whose own fato was uncertain,
and when his own ship was reached he
climbed up its side without assistance,
saying: Tell the surgeon to mako haste
and get his instruments. | know must
lose my right arm, so the sooner il is oil
tho better. He underwent the amputn-
ton, Wc learn from Il private letter Of
one Of ms mldShipmCn, with the Same
tirnness and courage that have always
marked his character. And yet SO pain
fully was he affected by the GOODNESS of
the operator knife that when next go
ing into action at the famous battle of
the Nile he gave standing orders to his
surgeons that hot water should always
be kept i'll readiness during an engage
mcnt, 50 that if another operation should
be required he might at least have the
poor comfort of being cut with warm
Instruments
ION the side of the surgeon we find
throughout the ages IL constant effort to
diminish the terrors of operations aud -
continuous rCprobation of tho distress
full, not TO say cruel, modes OF prac
tlcc adopted by preceding generations.
And yet the time is not very far distant
from ours whom they Topped Off Il limb
by striking it violently with heavy
knife; that time when they knew nci-
Their how TO stop nor how 10 prevent
henorrhagc hut by burning the part
whence the blood jettcd with boiling oil
or the redhot iron; that time when sur
geons armed themselves at every mo-
ment with pinchers, with burning eau
ferries and Will, inns m
sensations even Of which cause terror.
But the presence of pain was not the
only evil dreaded by our predecessors in
attempting Important operations. Tho
great risk of fatal accident from some in
voluntary movement Of the patient was
constantly present 70 the mind Of the
conscientious surgeon. How often. says
DR.. Valentine Mott, when opcratin. III
some deep, dark wound. along the course
Of some great vein. with thin walls al
tcrnatcly distcndcd and ilaccid with tho
vital currcnt--how often have dreaded
that como unfortunate struggle OF the
patient would dcviatc the knife Il little
from its proper course and that |, who
fam would be the dclivcrcr, should in
voluntarily become the cXecutionor, see
ing my patient perish IN my hands by
the most appalling form of death! Had
he been insensihlc | should have felt no
alarm.
Coming dowa to the days more I'M
modiatcly preceding the date of the
great discovery, we find that opium and
alcohol were the only agents which con-
tinued to be regarded rs of practical
value i'll diminishing the pain of opera
tions, though the attendant disadvan-
tages of their employment were of course