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OT: Urological medicine history

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Posted 10/28/2019 12:51 PM (GMT 0)
To give an idea about how far things have come....

I've been reading a book that has short essays about all the Presidents of the US. In the essay about James K. Polk (President 1845-1849), it is told that in his youth--around 1820 or so, he developed bladder stones. The life-saving surgery he had involved inserting a Gorget--basically a pointed funnel shaped thing--up through his perineum, through the prostate, and into his bladder to remove the stones. The fact that he survived is incredible, it almost certainly rendered him sterile, and probably impotent.

Oh, the only anesthesia available was whiskey.

We've come a LONG way since then.
Posted 10/28/2019 2:20 PM (GMT 0)
It really is astonishing, not too strong a word, just how ghastly, again not too strong a word, standard surgery practices could be in the 19th century.

The article below is entitled "19 Unbelievable and Gruesome Facts about 19th Century Surgery" and the title says it all. Both text and illustrations attest to just how appalling conditions and practices often were back then.

Makes one want to breathe a sigh of relief that the surgery experiences many of us have had took place in modern times.

But it's all a matter of perspective. A century from now, when PCa will be diagnosed with a urine test and cured within a week with a pill, one will read an article entitled "19 Unbelievable and Gruesome Facts about 20th and 21st Century Surgery." ("What? They used to cut people open to get at cancer? They used to burn them with radiation? Barbaric!"

All a matter of perspective.

(May need to copy and paste link into your browser, as I can't get link to work):
https://historycollection.co/19-unbelievable-and-gruesome-facts-about-19th-century-surgery/
Posted 10/28/2019 3:06 PM (GMT 0)
Poor President Garfield was killed by his doctor, rather than the assassin's bullet. Germ theory and sterility were known at the time, but not universally accepted. His doctor, a non-believer in germ theory, spent a lot of time jamming his fingers in the wound try to locate the bullet. The President eventually died from infection. Some medical authorities believe he may have survived had the doctors just left the situation alone.
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