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How did James Simpson help make surgery safer?

How did James Simpson help make surgery safer?. “Aaargghh! That hurts!”. Problems with Surgery. Three main problems: Pain Infection Bleeding We will investigate how these problems were dealt with to make surgery safer and more effective. Early Nineteenth Century. Barber-surgeons

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How did James Simpson help make surgery safer?

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  1. How did James Simpson help make surgery safer? “Aaargghh! That hurts!”

  2. Problems with Surgery • Three main problems: • Pain • Infection • Bleeding We will investigate how these problems were dealt with to make surgery safer and more effective

  3. Early Nineteenth Century • Barber-surgeons • Use of drink, drugs, hypnosis • 1799 - Humphrey Davy experiments with nitrous oxide (laughing gas)

  4. 1840s • 1842 - Crawford Long - private use of ether • 1845 - Horace Long uses nitrous oxide, not effective for everyone • 1846 - John Warren - successfully uses ether • News of Warren’s success reaches England

  5. James Simpson(1811-1870) • Disliked ether - inflammable, pungent smell, irritated the lungs • Discovered effectiveness of chloroform • Promoted use of chloroform in surgeries

  6. Opposition to Chloroform • Surgeons inexperienced, accidents and overdoses • Calvinist Church opposition to chloroform in childbirth • Open to abuse by surgeons • Considered a ‘soft’ option by the army

  7. Queen Victoria • Given chloroform during birth of eighth child, Leopold (1853) by John Snow • Became more socially acceptable • Most popular anaesthetic until 1900, found to damage the liver

  8. Anaesthetics • More accepted, but still problems: • large amounts needed to relax muscles • Recovery slow, frequent complications • Anaesthetists became specialists • New substances: 1884 - Cocaine as a local anaesthetic 1905 - Novocaine - more effective than cocaine 1942 - Curare, South American poison used as a muscle relaxant

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