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mhyquel t1_iu7g6sl wrote

Reply to comment by cozworthington in Revisiting the great exploding trousers epidemic of the 1930s by marketrent

I've said this a few times; at some point we'll look back at surgery as barbaric. People from the future will find it abhorrent and astonishing that we used to cut people open to make them heal.

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wolfie379 t1_iu7hppm wrote

I saw a documentary about that - doctor travelled back in time to give a kidney dialysis patient a pill to get her kidneys working again.

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mpking828 t1_iu8xi2v wrote

We do this now.

  • Trepanation (drilling or scraping a hole in the skull) to release the demons out. (Seriously, but sometimes worked because of cranial pressure from severe head trauma, they just didn't know that)
  • Lobotomy, severing connections in the brain’s prefrontal lobe with an implement resembling an icepick, done up till the 1970's
  • Bloodletting ie draining your blood to restore the balance of humors. Just tap an artery and let some blood out till your better.
  • Malaria therapy. You got syphilis? We'll give you malaria, cause the fever is so hot and prolonged, it will kill the syphilis.
  • Cough syrup used to be made from morphine
  • Mercury drops was a common medical tonic.
  • Heroin was also a cough syrup as well.
  • Leeches anyone? Common up till the 1800's, people used leeches, usually in reference to bloodletting.
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alex8339 t1_iu96c1q wrote

>Leeches anyone? Common up till the 1800's, people used leeches, usually in reference to bloodletting.

And maggots!

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whoamist t1_iu9e379 wrote

Leeches and maggots are still used in medicine

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RollinThundaga t1_iu8m7d9 wrote

Resetting complex bone fractures will probably always require it. You can't migitech a femur to heal properly when its in three pieces, each an inch apart and stabbed into the surrounding muscle.

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donspyd t1_iubov1c wrote

I mean I heard the same thing in Star Trek, but its better than the alternative. Would it really be humane to just let everyone suffer and die until we invent lasers and magic drugs? So I don't think its barbaric really. You work with what you have.

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