A five-part series on the pioneers of modern surgery Nerves of Steel
Imagine the scene. 1830 - a smoke-filled room, crowded with spectators. Their eyes are fixed on a man, restrained on a wooden table, with a leg ravaged by gangrene. The surgeon enters. Without anaesthetics, without blood transfusion and with no knowledge of infection, he will amputate the leg in 30 seconds.
Today surgeons can operate safely on the brain and the heart, on the elderly and on babies only a few hours old. The story of this remarkable transformation begins with a historic operation on a boy, Gilbert Abbott. What made his operation special was that, unlike all patients before him, he felt no pain.
Narrated by Alexander John Film editor JAMIE HAY
Written and produced by FIONA HOLMES
Series producer JON PALFREMAN
0 FEATURE: page 98
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