John H. Packard's Primary Ether Anesthesia

Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 2011

In this report, we explore the little known role of Dr Nathan Cooley Keep in the dissemination of ether anesthesia in Boston. Keep was a prominent Boston dentist who, for a short time, taught and employed both William Morton and Horace Wells. He used ether anesthesia for a variety of dental and other surgical procedures requiring pain control. Keep administered ether to anesthetize Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's wife during the delivery of their daughter. This was the first use of ether for obstetric anesthesia. Dr Keep was also the first Dean of the Harvard Dental School and convinced the Massachusetts General Hospital to appoint a dentist to the staff of the hospital for the first time.

Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology, 2012

Purpose of review Anesthesia for ambulatory surgery has come a long way since 1842 when James Venable underwent surgery for removal of a neck mass with Crawford W. Long administering ether and also being the surgeon. We examine major advances over the past century and a half. Recent findings The development of anesthesia as a medical specialty is perhaps the single most important improvement that has enabled advances in the surgical specialties. Moreover, improved equipment, monitoring, training, evaluation of patients, discovery of better anesthetic agents, pain control, and the evolution of perioperative care are the main reasons why ambulatory anesthesia remains so safe in modern times. The development of less invasive surgical techniques, economic factors, and patient preferences provided addition impetus to the popularity of ambulatory surgery. Summary Beyond the discovery in the mid-19th century that ether and nitrous oxide could be used to render patients unconscious during surgical procedures, subsequent developments in our specialty have added modestly, in a stepwise manner, to reduce mortality and morbidity associated with its use. These improvements have allowed us to safely meet the steadily increasing demand for ambulatory surgery.

Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, 2020

In September 1847, David John Thomas read a paper on etherisation at a monthly meeting of the Port Phillip Medical Association. Thomas’ paper is the earliest known presentation of a paper on etherisation in the Australian colonies. Almost half of Thomas’ 27-page manuscript was published in October 1847 in the Australian Medical Journal. The original manuscript was acquired at an unknown date by the Medical Society of Victoria. Although a full transcript of the manuscript was published in 1933, the original manuscript of Dr Thomas remained unknown to anaesthesia historians and is now held by the Medical History Museum, University of Melbourne.

Anesthesiology, 2010

Anesthesiology, 2008

Indian Journal of Clinical Anaesthesia (IJCA) publishes definitive, peer-reviewed articles devoted to the clinical practice of anaesthesia. IJCA publishes a wide range of articles in the discipline of anaesthesiology including basic science, translational medicine, education, and clinical research to create a platform for the authors to make their contribution towards the field without restrictions/barriers of subscription and language. IJCA addresses all aspects of anaesthesia practice, including anaesthetic administration, pharmacokinetics, preoperative and postoperative considerations, coexisting disease and other complicating factors, cost issues, and similar concerns anaesthesiologists contend with daily. Exceptionally high standards of presentation and accuracy are maintained. This Journal is an Open Access journal and aims to publish research articles, reviews, case studies, commentaries, short communications, and letters to the editor on various aspects of anaesthesiology and perioperative medicine and making them freely available worldwide.

2020

According to the definition of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), pain is defined as: "Unpleasant subjective feeling and emotional experience associated with current or potential tissue damage of a particular localisation", which, as such, poses a challenge for epidemiological research to determine its frequency and prevalence. We have all heard the motto that surgery has experienced its unprecedented development on the wings of anaesthesia. This is most certainly the case, since it is precisely the pain that prevents any invasive procedure on the human body, hence the very elimination of pain has opened up the way for the application and development of surgery. For this reason, the skill and now the science of anaesthesia are epochal civilizational achievements, which is why it is worth remembering the attempts and successes of its application. The very beginning of mankind cannot be imagined without the humans facing some sort of pain. As long ag...

We describe a case of Negative Pressure Pulmonary Edema (NPPE) followed by laryngospasm occurred immediately after extubation. A 24-year-old man underwent a surgical correction of unilateral inguinal hernia by laparoscopy. The tracheal intubation was easy with grade 1 of Cormack-Lehane classification. Anesthesia was maintained with sevoflurane 2, 5%. After fully awake extubation, nearly total upper airway obstruction due to severe laryngospasm was observed by a decrease in oxygen saturation and the presence of large amount frothy pink sputum, suggestive of acute pulmonary edema. A nasal airway was inserted, but face mask ventilation was difficult. Oxygenation of the airway was maintained with support of non invasive ventilation for twenty four hours, with SpO 2 of 92-96 %. 48 hours later, the pulmonary edema disappeared and the patient was discharged without complications (SpO 2 96% and ambient air).

The anesthesiology profession may one day serve as a cautionary tale of how power, politics and privilege can perturb science and progress. Previous anesthesia practitioners possessed a superior understanding of physiology and pharmacology, but overenthusiastic CO2 supplementation with inadequate monitors and machines caused asphyxiation disasters that were improperly attributed to CO2 toxicity. Dr. Ralph Waters founded the anesthesiology profession on the basis of a practical new anesthetic tech- nique that introduced elective intubation and hyperventilation to eliminate CO2 toxicity, but mechanical hyperventilation dangerously depletes CO2 tissue reserves and exag- gerates morbidity and mortality. The bene ts of CO2 supplementation were forgotten, and consequent CO2 confusion has derailed research, discouraged opioid treatment, damaged patient safety, and disrupted professional progress. Anesthesiologists can no longer claim to provide superior service, and hospital administrators are replacing them with nurses. Professional membership is in decline, and professional survival is in ques- tion. Modern machines have eliminated asphyxiation, and modern monitoring enables safe and bene cial hypercarbia that complements opioid treatment and minimizes sur- gical morbidity and mortality. CO2 reform promises revolutionary advance but faces formidable opposition.