15. Swedish scientist performed the first injection anesthesia experiments on himself and Xylocaine was “born”.
In the 1940s, one third of surgical procedures in Sweden were performed with local or regional anesthesia. It was less traumatic for the patient. The major risk with local anesthetics came from having to inject in an area rich in blood vessels, presenting risk of a toxic effect leading to cardiac arrest. Surgeons had to watch for spasms and convulsions. They wanted a substance with a low toxicity and a rapid onset; this substance should also last a long time and be kept in bottles.
Lidocaine, the first amino amide-type local anesthetic, was first synthesized under the name Xylocaine by Swedish chemist Nils Lofgren in 1943. The name Xylocaine was created as a union of its most important raw product, xylidine, and the general suffix used for local anesthetics, “-caine.” In May 1948, the patent for Xylocaine was approved in Sweden and a few months later, it was approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States as well. All this would never happen, however, if Lofgren’s colleague named Bengt Lundqvist wasn’t brave enough to perform the first injection anesthesia experiments on himself.