Anaesthesia and intensive care
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Dec 2022
ReviewThe origins and development of physician anaesthesiology training in Papua New Guinea: From colonial days to the current era.
Papua New Guinea is a Pacific country that remains an enigma to the world at large. Despite massive geographical challenges due to mountainous terrain, remote islands, poverty, and with 80% of the population of over eight million living in rural villages, Papua New Guinea has managed to develop national medical and postgraduate specialty training. The first recorded anaesthetic was administered in Papua New Guinea in 1880 and the first anaesthetist trained in 1968. ⋯ As of December 2021, there have been 82 diplomas and 40 masters of medicine awarded. We review the factors and influences bearing on the development of physician anaesthesia training in Papua New Guinea over this period. Many of the people involved have contributed information used in this article.
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Anaesth Intensive Care · Dec 2022
Surgical operations at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1846 and 1847: Early impact of the discovery of anaesthesia.
The introduction of anaesthesia on 16 October 1846 brought about tremendous changes in the discipline of surgery. We sought to determine whether the concept of painless surgery was accepted by practitioners and patients, and whether this led to an increase in frequency and variety of surgical operations performed. To study these changes, we analysed surgical records from Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (MGH) in the months surrounding the discovery of ether anaesthesia. ⋯ This suggests early acceptance of anaesthesia by patients and the medical profession. In an era prior to the introduction of antiseptic and aseptic techniques it is not surprising that wound infections were observed in several patients. We provide a glimpse of anaesthesia and surgery during the first few months after the first public demonstration of anaesthesia at MGH.