I have to go in for brain operation as well as I’m nervous. Is brain operation safer right away than i was from a past? How most safer? Sources? I have a protuberance a surgeons wish to drain.
Modern surgery developed rapidly with the scientific era. Ambroise Paré (sometimes spelled "Ambrose"[11]) pioneered the treatment of gunshot wounds, and the first modern surgeons were battlefield doctors in the Napoleonic Wars. Naval surgeons were often barber surgeons, who combined surgery with their main jobs as barbers. Three main developments permitted the transition to modern surgical approaches – control of bleeding, control of infection and control of pain (anaesthesia).
Bleeding Before modern surgical developments, there was a very real threat that a patient would bleed to death before treatment, or during the operation. Cauterization (fusing a wound closed with extreme heat) was successful but limited – it was destructive, painful and in the long term had very poor outcomes. Ligatures, or material used to tie off severed blood vessels, originated as early as ancient Rome[12], and were improved by Ambroise Paré in the 16th century. Though this method was a significant improvement over the method of cauterization, it was still dangerous until infection risk was brought under control – at the time of its discovery, the concept of infection was not fully understood. Finally, early 20th century research into blood groups allowed the first effective blood transfusions. Pain Modern pain control through anesthesia was discovered by two American dental surgeons, Horace Wells (1815–1848) and William T. G. Morton. Before the advent of anesthesia, surgery was a traumatically painful procedure and surgeons were encouraged to be as swift as possible to minimize patient suffering. This also meant that operations were largely restricted to amputations and external growth removals. Beginning in the 1840s, surgery began to change dramatically in character with the discovery of effective and practical anaesthetic chemicals such as ether and chloroform, later pioneered in Britain by John Snow. In addition to relieving patient suffering, anaesthesia allowed more intricate operations in the internal regions of the human body. In addition, the discovery of muscle relaxants such as curare allowed for safer applications. Infection Unfortunately, the introduction of anesthetics encouraged more surgery, which inadvertently caused more dangerous patient post-operative infections. The concept of infection was unknown until relatively modern times. The first progress in combating infection was made in 1847 by the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis who noticed that medical students fresh from the dissecting room were causing excess maternal death compared to midwives. Semmelweis, despite ridicule and opposition, introduced compulsory handwashing for everyone entering the maternal wards and was rewarded with a plunge in maternal and fetal deaths, however the Royal Society in the UK still dismissed his advice. Significant progress came following the work of Louis Pasteur and his advances in microbiology, when the British surgeon Joseph Lister began experimenting with using phenol during surgery to prevent infections. Lister was able to quickly reduce infection rates, a reduction that was further helped by his subsequent introduction of the techniques of Robert Koch (such as the Steam Steriliser, which proved more successful than the carbolic acid spray that Lister had been using previously) to sterilize equipment, have rigorous hand washing and a later implementation of rubber gloves. Lister published his work as a series of articles in The Lancet (March 1867) under the title Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. The work was groundbreaking and laid the foundations for a rapid advance in infection control that saw modern aseptic operating theatres widely used within 50 years (Lister himself went on to make further strides in antisepsis and asepsis throughout his lifetime).
Among the earliest known procedures, is Trepanning. This involves boring holes, sometimes using stone tools, through the skull. Early practitioners adopted this procedure to correct madness, insanity and other mental imbalances. It was thought that by setting free the ‘demons’ and ‘evil spirits’ occupying the brain. Brain surgeries were also used to treat epilepsy, headaches, osteomylitis and head injuries, not to mention brain surgeries ‘spiritual’ and ‘magical’ purposes. The basic approach in most ancient brain surgery procedures is to remove the portion of the brain that, in the opinion of the practitioner, has been damaged and is failing. This was not entirely illogical in medical terms, as even now, defective or diseased organs are quickly removed from the body to prevent the spread of disease and discomfort. Based on this approach, early surgeons removed the frontal lobes of many mental facility patients, as they considered the lobes to control the mental behavior of individuals.
In brain surgery history, modern scientific knowledge about the brain and it’s surgical procedures originated to some extent in the works of Hippocrates. Considered as the father of modern medical ethics, Hippocrates’ work displayed his excellent knowledge about clinical signs of head injuries, seizures, spasms, contusions, depression and head fractures. Even today, after more than 2000 years of his death, the findings of Hippocrates still form the basis of knowledge about brain studies and surgical interventions.
Lobotomies
The first consistently practiced brain surgery procedure began on or around 1935 with a procedure called a leucotomy or a lobotomy. It involves cutting the fiber tracts between the thalamus and the frontal lobes by using a special knife. The purpose of this intervention was to provide relief from symptoms like severe depression, psychosis and violent behavior when other forms of treatment had failed. However, this procedure was much abused and many patients were maimed for life.
Brain Surgery Today
Brain surgery have developed throughout the 20th century to a point where brain surgery is routinely performed with great success. It has continued to develop hand-in-hand with the development of our understanding of the brain, right to this day. Brain surgeons nowadays use lasers to pinpoint minute locations in sensitive areas of the brain and make precise incisions. Also, surgeons make use of robotic tools to automate procedures but more importantly take advantage of the precision of a computer guided device. Brain surgery has come along way since the Neolithic age!
If you like this blog please take a second and subscribe to Surgery rss feed
Tags: brain surgery, CYST
Comments: 3 comments
All the surgery fields that are marked with REQ must be filled when searched for
skater girl
January 13th, 2011 at 3:50 am
Modern surgery developed rapidly with the scientific era. Ambroise Paré (sometimes spelled "Ambrose"[11]) pioneered the treatment of gunshot wounds, and the first modern surgeons were battlefield doctors in the Napoleonic Wars. Naval surgeons were often barber surgeons, who combined surgery with their main jobs as barbers. Three main developments permitted the transition to modern surgical approaches – control of bleeding, control of infection and control of pain (anaesthesia).
Bleeding
Before modern surgical developments, there was a very real threat that a patient would bleed to death before treatment, or during the operation. Cauterization (fusing a wound closed with extreme heat) was successful but limited – it was destructive, painful and in the long term had very poor outcomes. Ligatures, or material used to tie off severed blood vessels, originated as early as ancient Rome[12], and were improved by Ambroise Paré in the 16th century. Though this method was a significant improvement over the method of cauterization, it was still dangerous until infection risk was brought under control – at the time of its discovery, the concept of infection was not fully understood. Finally, early 20th century research into blood groups allowed the first effective blood transfusions.
Pain
Modern pain control through anesthesia was discovered by two American dental surgeons, Horace Wells (1815–1848) and William T. G. Morton. Before the advent of anesthesia, surgery was a traumatically painful procedure and surgeons were encouraged to be as swift as possible to minimize patient suffering. This also meant that operations were largely restricted to amputations and external growth removals. Beginning in the 1840s, surgery began to change dramatically in character with the discovery of effective and practical anaesthetic chemicals such as ether and chloroform, later pioneered in Britain by John Snow. In addition to relieving patient suffering, anaesthesia allowed more intricate operations in the internal regions of the human body. In addition, the discovery of muscle relaxants such as curare allowed for safer applications.
Infection
Unfortunately, the introduction of anesthetics encouraged more surgery, which inadvertently caused more dangerous patient post-operative infections. The concept of infection was unknown until relatively modern times. The first progress in combating infection was made in 1847 by the Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis who noticed that medical students fresh from the dissecting room were causing excess maternal death compared to midwives. Semmelweis, despite ridicule and opposition, introduced compulsory handwashing for everyone entering the maternal wards and was rewarded with a plunge in maternal and fetal deaths, however the Royal Society in the UK still dismissed his advice. Significant progress came following the work of Louis Pasteur and his advances in microbiology, when the British surgeon Joseph Lister began experimenting with using phenol during surgery to prevent infections. Lister was able to quickly reduce infection rates, a reduction that was further helped by his subsequent introduction of the techniques of Robert Koch (such as the Steam Steriliser, which proved more successful than the carbolic acid spray that Lister had been using previously) to sterilize equipment, have rigorous hand washing and a later implementation of rubber gloves. Lister published his work as a series of articles in The Lancet (March 1867) under the title Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery. The work was groundbreaking and laid the foundations for a rapid advance in infection control that saw modern aseptic operating theatres widely used within 50 years (Lister himself went on to make further strides in antisepsis and asepsis throughout his lifetime).
and yes it’s safer to have the it now.
Mahan
January 13th, 2011 at 3:50 am
Among the earliest known procedures, is Trepanning. This involves boring holes, sometimes using stone tools, through the skull. Early practitioners adopted this procedure to correct madness, insanity and other mental imbalances. It was thought that by setting free the ‘demons’ and ‘evil spirits’ occupying the brain. Brain surgeries were also used to treat epilepsy, headaches, osteomylitis and head injuries, not to mention brain surgeries ‘spiritual’ and ‘magical’ purposes. The basic approach in most ancient brain surgery procedures is to remove the portion of the brain that, in the opinion of the practitioner, has been damaged and is failing. This was not entirely illogical in medical terms, as even now, defective or diseased organs are quickly removed from the body to prevent the spread of disease and discomfort. Based on this approach, early surgeons removed the frontal lobes of many mental facility patients, as they considered the lobes to control the mental behavior of individuals.
In brain surgery history, modern scientific knowledge about the brain and it’s surgical procedures originated to some extent in the works of Hippocrates. Considered as the father of modern medical ethics, Hippocrates’ work displayed his excellent knowledge about clinical signs of head injuries, seizures, spasms, contusions, depression and head fractures. Even today, after more than 2000 years of his death, the findings of Hippocrates still form the basis of knowledge about brain studies and surgical interventions.
Lobotomies
The first consistently practiced brain surgery procedure began on or around 1935 with a procedure called a leucotomy or a lobotomy. It involves cutting the fiber tracts between the thalamus and the frontal lobes by using a special knife. The purpose of this intervention was to provide relief from symptoms like severe depression, psychosis and violent behavior when other forms of treatment had failed. However, this procedure was much abused and many patients were maimed for life.
Brain Surgery Today
Brain surgery have developed throughout the 20th century to a point where brain surgery is routinely performed with great success. It has continued to develop hand-in-hand with the development of our understanding of the brain, right to this day. Brain surgeons nowadays use lasers to pinpoint minute locations in sensitive areas of the brain and make precise incisions. Also, surgeons make use of robotic tools to automate procedures but more importantly take advantage of the precision of a computer guided device. Brain surgery has come along way since the Neolithic age!
Kent H
January 13th, 2011 at 3:50 am
yes many improvements in the last two decades.
Leave a reply