19 Unbelievable and Gruesome Facts about 19th Century Surgery

12. The introduction of ether as an anesthetic in the mid-19^th century may have been a breakthrough, but fatality rates actually went up!

In December 1846, surgeons gathered in the operating theater of University College London to witness medical history. Dr. Robert Liston, famed for the speed of his amputations, promised to demonstrate the latest surgical advance, imported into England from the United States. The patient was laid down on the operating table and made to inhale ether. He was knocked out. The days of surgeons struggling to hold squirming patients down were over. Indeed, many medical professionals heralded the introduction of ether as a true landmark, bringing the ‘age of agony’ to an end.

However, in hindsight, this wasn’t an entirely good thing. Up until the 1840s, surgeons were required to carry out procedures as swiftly as possible. With their patients unconscious and unable to squirm in pain, surgeons felt more confident. Far from just cutting sickly limbs off, they attempted more complex procedures. However, advances in anesthesia hadn’t been accompanied by advances in hygiene. As a result, rates of infections soared. Indeed, at the Massachusetts General Hospital, the records show that mortality rates for amputations increased from 19% to 23% directly after the introduction of ether.