Strange Sleep
One hundred and fifty years ago the anaesthetic before amputation of a limb was a glass of brandy - sometimes with the addition of a small dose of morphine - and the skilled surgeon was the one who could get a limb off in a minute or so, regardless of the damage to the tissue. Relatively simple complaints like appendicitis and gallstones were killers, since no surgeon could operate without an anaesthetic.
The birth of anaesthesia was a difficult one. The pioneers did not understand that the effects of their anaesthetics would vary from patient to patient, nor did they know anything of the dangers of addiction. So to many of them their discoveries brought disappointment, disgrace and tragedy. With present-day doctors and nurses playing the parts of their predecessors, this film tells the story of some of those pioneers.
Narrator PAUL VAUGHAN
Produced for WGBH Boston by FRANCIS CLADSTONC
Presented by FIONA HOLMES Editor PETER GOODCHILD