November 2014 CE

NOVEMBER 2014 | The Surgical Technologist | 497 Orthopedic Surgery during the American Civil War L E A R N I N G O B J E C T I V E S s Learn about the battlefield conditions doctors had to deal with during the Civil War s Identity the three categories doctors established to help treat patients s Examine what caused the majority of injuries during the battle s Discuss the various methods used by surgeons to mend gunshot wounds s Read about the influential people who made anesthesia, orthopedic surgery and prosthetics what they are today T he use of anesthetic agents in surgery was first successfully introduced in 1846 at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) when Dr William Morton used ether as an anesthetic while doctors John C Warren and Henry J Bigelow performed a neck dissection on a patient. The patient reported a complete absence of pain during the procedure. Dr Warren was quoted as saying, “Gentle- men, this is no humbug.” The use of anesthetics had a profound effect on the number of future surgical procedures. At MGH, during the years of 1839-1846 there were a total of only 39 surgical procedures performed. However, during the 10 years following, the number of surgical procedures increased to 189 cases. Tony Forgione , cst, lpn Surgery during the American Civil War, as portrayed inmovies, was an exercise in torture. The scene from the movie “The Horse Soldiers” shows where the actor, WilliamHolden, had to amputate the infected leg of a union soldier. The surgery took place on the hay-strewn floor of a horse stall and the only meth- od of anesthesia that was availablewas a bottle of whiskey and four strong sol- diers to hold the patient down. The film’s portrayal was far from reality.