Modern Anesthesia: From the Past to the Present of Pain-Free Surgeries

Have you ever wondered how modern anesthesia developed and how surgeries were performed in the era before anesthesia became widespread?

Before anesthesia became common in medicine, surgery and pain were almost synonymous. Many doctors did not believe that pain-free surgery was possible. Surgeries were considered extremely dangerous and were performed only as a last resort. Patients were operated on while fully conscious and without being numbed. Consequently, patient selection was of great importance; only those thought to be able to withstand the procedure were considered for surgery. Additionally, the speed of the surgeon performing the operation was a vital factor. Even imagining this situation is quite painful.

A painting of old-time surgeries

So, how did modern anesthesia come to be? Let's take a brief look.

In fact, substances with anesthetic properties have always been around us, and it was known that some plants could alleviate pain and even induce a certain degree of unconsciousness. According to sources, the first person to mention pain-relieving substances was Hippocrates, known as the father of medicine. However, the methods for safely using these substances on patients were not discovered or these ideas were ignored. As a result, the discovery of anesthesia took a long time, and it was not until the 1840s that painless surgeries became possible.

Doctors working on this topic mainly focused on ether and chloroform gases and conducted experiments with these substances. The first successful trial is attributed to Dr. William Morton. Dr. Morton applied ether to his patient during a tooth extraction operation. When the patient woke up, he reported that he felt no pain, and no side effects were observed. This success was then taken to another level, and in 1846, a patient with a neck tumor underwent a successful surgery under general anesthesia.

This development accelerated research in the field of anesthesia. The first anesthetic substances were more risky in terms of side effects, and the methods of application, dosage adjustments, and control of the patient under anesthesia were quite limited. However, with advances in modern technology, the introduction of new anesthetic substances, and the development of better methods for controlling patients under anesthesia, the procedure has become much safer and has reached modern standards.

What is anesthesia?

Modern Anesthesia Practices

Anesthesia is essentially the technique used to prevent the patient from feeling pain during surgery. The term means the loss of sensation.

Pain sensation is caused when a signal is sent from a traumatized area to the brain. The pain signal travels from the body's peripheral areas through fine nerve fibers to the spinal cord and then to the brain. Although there are some details, substances with this effect generally work by influencing the nervous system to block responses to sensory stimuli. In other words, they block the transmission of the pain signal to the brain.

While there are different types of anesthesia, we can primarily mention two techniques: general and local anesthesia. In general anesthesia, the entire body is numbed in a controlled way, and the patient becomes unconscious. This method is preferred for major and time-consuming surgeries, such as organ transplants and heart surgeries. In local anesthesia, only a specific part of the body is numbed, and the patient remains conscious during the procedure. This method is used for relatively simpler procedures.

In summary, the development of modern anesthesia is one of the most important milestones in the history of medicine. Surgeries once considered impossible have become feasible thanks to this technique. Although there are still some risks, continuous improvements in this field through technological advancements have made anesthesia safer. Today, many patients undergo surgeries safely with the help of anesthetic techniques and regain their health.

References

1) Booser, A., & Anesthesiologist, P. (n.d.). The Astonishingly Slow Progress Towards Surgical Anesthesia. https://www.bl.uk/restoration-18th-century-literature/articles/frances-burneys-account-of-her-

2) Abhyankar, R. S., & Jessop, K. M. (n.d.). From Craft to Profession: The Development of Modern Anesthesiology.

3) Capey, S. (2007). Anesthetics. 1996, 1–3.

4) Robinson, D. H., & Toledo, A. H. (2012). Historical development of modern anesthesia. Journal of Investigative Surgery, 25(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.3109/08941939.2012.690328

5) National Institute of General Medical Sciences. (n.d.). Anesthesia. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved January 4, 2025, from https://www.nigms.nih.gov/education/fact-sheets/Pages/anesthesia.aspx#:~:text=Anesthesia%20is%20a%20medical%20intervention,biopsies

6) Encyclopaedia Britannica. (n.d.). Anesthetic. Retrieved January 4, 2025, from https://www.britannica.com/science/anesthetic