20 Scary Old School Surgical Tools

[LittleRocker]

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http://www.surgicaltechnologists.net/blog/20-scary-old-school-surgical-tools

I'm glad to have been born in the 20th century 😀

biggest WTF: The tobacco enema was used to infuse tobacco smoke into a patient's rectum for various medical purposes, primarily the resuscitation of drowning victims. A rectal tube inserted into the anus was connected to a fumigator and bellows that forced the smoke towards the rectum. The warmth of the smoke was thought to promote respiration, but doubts about the credibility of tobacco enemas led to the popular phrase "blow smoke up one's ass."

??????

 

[Bacchus]

If anything, wouldn't it lead to some kind of poisoning? The rectal tissue is extremely thin and almost anything can diffuse across it quite easily. Don't go doing alcohol enemas.

 

[runrunrudolph1]

one question. WTF????

 

[Bacchus]

I just looked at them all. That enema one is probably the tamest besides the airway gag. I actually felt uneasy looking at them, ick.

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

thank you electrocauterization

 

[Lukkie]

here's a little food for thought:

back in the medieval ages, surgeons weren't physicians, but barbers.

 

[dr zaius]

We used to do the tobacco enemas all the time at parties. It really gets the nicotine in your system faster. I still don't understand why those guys made me drink that beverage that knocked me out beforehand, though....

 

[YouNeverKnow22]

the circumcision knife made me cringe

 

[SketchsaurusRex]

the circumcision knife made me cringe

my grandma has one of these. she uses it to put icing on cakes.

 

[erdavis]

The cervical dilator, the hysterotome, the vaginal speculum ....... and I thought getting a pap smear was uncomfortable 🙂

 

[Lukkie]

my grandma has one of these. she uses it to put icing on cakes.

did she use it to resect the icing on your cake?

 

[dr zaius]

my grandma has one of these. she uses it to put icing on cakes.

I hope she autoclaved it first.

 

[SketchsaurusRex]

did she use it to resect the icing on your cake?

its like fight club. i'm not supposed to talk about it.😳

 

[Omni]

damn, that hand-powered skull saw looked pretty intimidating. what type of neurosurgery was done back then?

 

[theacks1]

here's a little food for thought:

back in the medieval ages, surgeons weren't physicians, but barbers.

As dealers of blood, they were considered on the lowest rung of society, along with other professions like butchers. Medieval physicians would not consider what modern physicians do very becoming either; to even touch a patient was considered wrong. They might take a history as they circle around you looking, but never touching, until they made a diagnosis.

 

[Seraph 84]

First of all, pain.

Second, with all the advances in medical technology, I wonder if people in the upcoming centuries will react the same way we are reacting to these archaic torture devices. Using your hands to perform surgery....that's old school!

 

[Omni]

First of all, pain.

Second, with all the advances in medical technology, I wonder if people in the upcoming centuries will react the same way we are reacting to these archaic torture devices. Using your hands to perform surgery....that's old school!

IMO, the only reason why people would see those tools as "torture devices" is that archaic surgical tools are usually associated to times when anesthesia was still primitive.

But later on on the future, I don't think people would react the same way we react when we see those surgical tools of 2-4 centuries ago.

 

[STXGregor]

I'm not a woman, but I feel for the ladies who had that cervical dilator put to them. At least the babies getting circumsized didnt know what was going on.

 

[MossPoh]

here's a little food for thought:

back in the medieval ages, surgeons weren't physicians, but barbers.

They were barbers in the 1700s...Surgeons being considered doctors isn't a horribly old concept in the grand scheme of things.

The Lithotome is a particularly nasty one, but not because of looks. They used to essentially tie your ankles to above your head and ram that into your perineum, without anesthesia (aside from a little whiskey). They also used knives and the bad operations could last 40+ minutes and lead to several days of agony before dying.

They are all pretty bad, but I think the mental image of being in that exposed position and having sharp objects rammed there is particularly nasty.

 

[45408]

Don't know if you guys realize this, but we still use a lot of stuff like those. Circumcision hasn't come very far in a few thousand years. Skull saws are skull saws - it's just a little smaller, more precise, and spins about a thousand times faster. They still ligate hemorrhoids in about the same way, but they use a rubber band now. We've still got some nice anal dilators too. And man, you guys should see what they use to immobilize the head in neurosurgery. It's brutal. We still use metal vaginal speculums.

The mouth gag has just been replaced by an oropharyngeal airway, used both pre-hospital and in the ER/OR.

Now, we don't even bother to pull the bullet out. I had tons of patients with gunshot wounds when I was on trauma surgery, and we never went looking for the bullet.

 

[Omni]

Don't know if you guys realize this, but we still use a lot of stuff like those. Circumcision hasn't come very far in a few thousand years. Skull saws are skull saws - it's just a little smaller, more precise, and spins about a thousand times faster. They still ligate hemorrhoids in about the same way, but they use a rubber band now. We've still got some nice anal dilators too. And man, you guys should see what they use to immobilize the head in neurosurgery. It's brutal. We still use metal vaginal speculums.

The mouth gag has just been replaced by an oropharyngeal airway, used both pre-hospital and in the ER/OR.

Now, we don't even bother to pull the bullet out. I had tons of patients with gunshot wounds when I was on trauma surgery, and we never went looking for the bullet.

how do they immobilize heads for neurosurgery? just curious.

 

[45408]

how do they immobilize heads for neurosurgery? just curious.

I tried Googling a picture, but I don't know the actual name of the device. It's got sharp steel conical prongs - two on one side, one on the other, and they go on opposite sides of the head, and they screw in pretty tightly (you'd be screaming if you were awake when they placed it). The device then mounts to the OR table.

 

[Omni]

I tried Googling a picture, but I don't know the actual name of the device. It's got sharp steel conical prongs - two on one side, one on the other, and they go on opposite sides of the head, and they screw in pretty tightly (you'd be screaming if you were awake when they placed it). The device then mounts to the OR table.

oh, damn. This whole time I thought they put a crown, that's attached to the table, around the head and used surgical tape or something of the sort to hold it immovably in place.

 

[vickpick]

circumcission knife wins!

 

[abakadaba]

Look what i found about dental care tools🙂
some of them look like a jewelery

http://dentalcareschool.com/historical-evolution-of-oral-hygiene-tools.html

 

[Compass]

The first reference to mouthwash for treating the gums appears in Chinese medicine and dates to 2700 BC. It recommends using children's urine.

So disturbed.

 

[ilikekiwis]

i think they use something like a halo to immobilize the head. could be wrong though

 

[Poliscidoc]

So disturbed.

x 2

 

[Evergrey]

Now, we don't even bother to pull the bullet out. I had tons of patients with gunshot wounds when I was on trauma surgery, and we never went looking for the bullet.

Why is that?

 

[SleepingJune]

The cervical dilator, the hysterotome, the vaginal speculum ....... and I thought getting a pap smear was uncomfortable 🙂

I was squirming in my seat just looking at these...

 

[greatnt249]

Why is that?

My guess is that many times going around digging for the bullet can cause more trouble (in terms of overall patient health) than it's worth, especially if it has shattered into tiny fragments upon impact.

 

[zayka]

In the early 20th century, they would do blood transfusions by connecting two people via a tube.

 

[adeline]

I tried Googling a picture, but I don't know the actual name of the device. It's got sharp steel conical prongs - two on one side, one on the other, and they go on opposite sides of the head, and they screw in pretty tightly (you'd be screaming if you were awake when they placed it). The device then mounts to the OR table.

Mayfield skull clamp.

 

[zayka]

Mayfield skull clamp.

I use something that looks similar on mice! Except prongs go into the ears and keep the head steady. Yeah - no wonder it's hard to get them in place if they're not properly anesthesized!

 

[eldoctor]

I use something that looks similar on mice! Except prongs go into the ears and keep the head steady. Yeah - no wonder it's hard to get them in place if they're not properly anesthesized!

Stereotaxic units are the biggest PITA

 

[VassarLiberal]

They were barbers in the 1700s...Surgeons being considered doctors isn't a horribly old concept in the grand scheme of things.

No, it's pretty recent. As recently as the 19th century, surgeons were trained as apprentices, and viewed as the bottom of the medical ladder (just above apothecaries, IIRC). On the other hand, physicians were the top of the medical hierarchy, and were trained at universities and admitted to practice as members of the Royal College.

 

[redsquareblack]

No, it's pretty recent. As recently as the 19th century, surgeons were trained as apprentices, and viewed as the bottom of the medical ladder (just above apothecaries, IIRC). On the other hand, physicians were the top of the medical hierarchy, and were trained at universities and admitted to practice as members of the Royal College.

Bloody bandages hung out to dry on poles led to the appearance of the modern barber pole.

Also, it is customary for advanced surgeons in the UK to be called "Mister", rather than "Doctor", to signify their historic status as distinct from physicians.