Operations that made History 2e / Edition 2

by Harold Ellis

Overview

A notable surgeon and charismatic teacher himself, Professor Ellis has brought together in Operations that made History a fascinating collection of renowned surgical procedures each one illustrating a different aspect of the history of surgery.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367001551
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/08/2018
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	168
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Harold Ellis qualified in Medicine at Oxford in 1948, the very month that the National Health Service was born. He trained in Surgery at Oxford, Sheffield, Northampton and London as well as spending two years in the Royal Army Medical Corps as a graded surgical specialist. He later served as civilian consultant surgeon to the Army.

He was appointed the foundation Professor of Surgery at Westminster Medical School, (now part of Imperial College, London),in 1962.He retired from Surgery in 1989 and, since then, has taught Anatomy, first at Cambridge and now, since 1993, at Guy's.

He has written or edited 27 text books on Surgery, Anatomy and Medical History. In 1987 he was appointed CBE for services to Surgery.

Table of Contents

Introduction. The First Ovariotomy. Ligation of the Abdominal Aorta. Ruptured Ectopic Pregnancy. The First Successful Gastrectomy. Splenectomy for Rupture of the Spleen. Renal Transplantation." I Dressed the Wound and God Healed Him". The Birth of Anaesthesia. The Compound Fracture. Electrosurgery. Queen Caroline's Umbilical Hernia. Lord Nelson's Amputation. The Sebaceous Cyst of George IV. Henry Thompson and Two Royal Bladder stones. The Appendiceal Abscess of Edward VII. The Empyema of George V. The Pneumonectomy of George VI. Envoi.

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Alain Touwaide, PhD (Ronin Institute)
Description: The making of surgery is told here through 18 interventions that might be firsts, characterized by a major breakthrough, innovations, or the treatment of famous patients. In this book, the field of surgery is divided into three major categories. In the first, we have the solution of problems remained unsolved up to the first successful intervention. In the second, accounts of operations that bring new insights and surgical techniques. The third group is focused on the patients. There are five or six case stories in each of these three categories, covering a time period from Ambroise Pare in the 16th century to the current era of minimal access surgery.
Purpose: The key to the book appears in the author's envoi. On the one hand, it has been a personal pleasure for the author to record his favorite surgery stories. On the other hand, it is a didactic book aimed to exhort the next generation of surgeons to study history, let alone to understand that the conditions in which they will operate, however insufficient and unsatisfactory they might be, are always better than those of past surgeons. And, it is an invitation to perform "historic operations." All in all, it is an homage to the profession, for the author's pleasure, exhortation purposes, and perhaps also educational goals, nothing more.
Audience: The envoi reveals the intentions of the author, not otherwise stated anywhere else in the book. Medical students are said to be the intended readers, but it is by no means sure that apprentice surgeons will take the time to read the book. It is more probable that this will be a leisure book for confirmed surgeons who take the time to think about their activity and, maybe, their career. Nevertheless, readers interested in a history narrated by major feats will enjoy this type of book.
Features: Through the discussion of 18 successful surgical interventions that transformed either medicine or history, the author extols the beauty of the surgical profession. Interestingly enough, all the major breakthroughs are about the abdominal cavity (including the female reproductive organs), whereas the seminal innovations deal with techniques from ligatures stopping bleeding to noninvasive interventions, including anesthesia or electrosurgery. The accounts of interventions performed on rulers would be anecdotal if they did not have control of immense parts of the world. Each of these 18 stories is told in a few pages, with short citations from possible works by the surgeons who are the central figures, or some relevant black-and-white illustrations, and a minimum of supplementary reading, so as to keep the interest of readers without drowning them in a sea of erudition and footnotes.
Assessment: A book written for the pleasure of its own author might not necessarily gain a large readership. Nevertheless, it will be a useful addition to any private collection or library, as it recounts in a simple, accessible, handy way some great moments in the history of surgery. It will certainly not become a reference, but it might be an introduction to the topic or a book read just for the pleasure of it, exactly as it was for its author.

Doody's Review Service

"...it will be a useful addition to any private collection or library, as it recounts in a simple, accessible, handy way some
great moments in the history of surgery."

Alain Touwaide, PhD (The Huntington)

From the Publisher