“Hanging out with skyscraper builders is so boring! It's story after story.”
Ovariotomy diagnosisIn 1809, the first U.S. ovariotomy (an abdominal surgical procedure for the surgical removal of an ovarian tumour) was decided upon by Dr. Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830), the “Father of Ovariotomy.” He had been called to the house of Jane Todd Crawford, 45, in Motley's Glen, Kentucky. She had been previously attended by less skilled practioners who had first thought she was pregnant with twins. McDowell instead diagnosed a huge tumour. A few days later, on 25 Dec, and 60 miles away at his Danville practice, McDowell operated to remove a 22-pound ovarian tumour - in an era that had no anaesthetic. She quickly recovered, and lived to be 78. His published account (1817) of the operation created a sensation. He performed eight more ovariotomies, the last in 1826. His statue stands in the U.S. Capitol.« |
