Operations that made history PDF
Preview Operations that made history
OPERATIONS THAT MADE HISTORY Second Edition OPERATIONS THAT MADE HISTORY Second Edition Harold Ellis C.B.E., D.M., M.Ch., F.R.C.S. Emeritus Professor of Surgery, University of London CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300 Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 © 2019 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business No claim to original U.S. Government works Printed on acid-free paper International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-367-00155-1 (Hardback) 978-1-138-33431-1 (Paperback) This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reason- able efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and pub- lisher cannot assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. 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CCC is a not-for-profit organi- zation that provides licenses and registration for a variety of users. For organizations that have been granted a photocopy license by the CCC, a separate system of payment has been arranged. Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ellis, Harold, 1926- author. Title: Operations that made history / Harold Ellis. Description: Second edition. | Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, [2018] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2018030132| ISBN 9781138334311 (pbk. : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780367001551 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780429434280 (ebook) Subjects: | MESH: General Surgery--history | Famous Persons | Surgical Procedures, Operative--methods | Case Reports Classification: LCC RD19 | NLM WO 11.1 | DDC 617.092/2--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018030132 Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at http://www.taylorandfrancis.com and the CRC Press Web site at http://www.crcpress.com To my wife Wendy, Our children and grandchildren CONTENTS Introduction ix Part I Major Breakthroughs 1 The First Ovariotomy 3 2 Ligation of the Abdominal Aorta 15 3 Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy 25 4 The First Successful Gastrectomy 31 5 Splenectomy for Rupture of the Spleen 39 6 Renal Transplantation 45 Part II Innovations 7 I Dressed the Wound and God Healed Him 53 8 The Birth of Anaesthesia 59 9 The Compound Fracture 71 10 Electrosurgery 79 11 Minimal Access Surgery 87 viii contents Part III Famous Patients 12 Queen Caroline’s Umbilical Hernia 99 13 Lord Nelson’s Amputation 105 14 The Sebaceous Cyst of George IV 113 15 Henry Thompson and Two Royal Bladder Stones 119 16 The Appendiceal Abscess of Edward VII 129 17 The Empyema of George V 137 18 The Pneumonectomy of George VI 145 19 Envoi 155 INTRODUCTION What constitutes an historic operation? Being a didactic under- graduate professor, I cannot help but answer this question by attempting a classification of the subject. After much study, I have divided such operations into Ellis type I, type II and type III. Type I is the obvious group – the operation that today’s newspapers love to describe as a ‘major breakthrough’ – the success never achieved before – the first gastrectomy, or pneumonectomy, or heart transplant. As an important rider to this it is usually, but not always, necessary for the operation to be not only original but also successful. Again and again throughout medical history there have been one or more unsung assays into something new, with fatal consequences, followed by the first loudly publicised success. Both the unsuccessful pioneer surgeon and his unfortunate dead patient pass into relative obscurity, in contrast to the worldwide acclaim of the victor. The unsuccessful gastrectomies of Jules Péan and Ludwig Rydigier are known only to the connoisseurs of medical history, but every medical student is familiar with the name of Theodor Billroth, whose gastrectomy in 1881 had that important qualification for an Ellis type I famous operation – his patient survived. The Ellis type II operation may be insignificant in itself but marks the introduction of some important point in surgical technique. The best example of this was the removal, in 1846, of a fairly trivial cyst of the neck, which qualifies for its historic importance because it was the first demonstration by William T.G. Morton of ether anaesthesia. Another example was the first drainage of an axillary abscess by means of a tube drain. The surgeon was Lord Joseph Lister, and the patient happened to be Queen Victoria; as far as I know, she did not give informed consent for this experiment.
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