Critical Reading and Writing
Final Draft
May 3, 2012
The Cutting Edge Surgery has been a method used to help fix people’s problems for generations. Whether it is a broken bone, dislocation, cancer, or ruptured appendix, surgery has provided the option of fixing these problems for the afflicted patients. The history of surgery is vast, and over the ages it has developed into a much more refined practice. According to Tim Lambert in A History of Surgery, it started in the Stone Age, with incisions and holes in people’s skulls for unknown reason. Egyptians then furthered the realm of surgery by removing the organs of mummies to prevent rotting (Lambert). A big problem during this time was cleanliness; it was difficult …show more content…
In addition, surgeons gained more knowledge about the human body through dissections that became allowed by the church around the mid-14th century (Lambert). The revolution of anesthetics wasn’t introduced until the 19th century; however it became a critical advancement in the field by allowing patients to receive pain relief by inhaling ether. This became especially important at this time, because new procedures such as the tracheotomy became a less intense procedure with the use of anesthetics. Options other than ether soon became available, such as chloroform, cocaine, and Novocain (Lambert). The surgical revolution didn’t end here, many technologies allowed for surgery to become a much more technical process. The 20th century led to the first eye surgery due to the invention of the laser, as well as improvements in heart surgery that led to the pacemaker, heart transplants, and artificial hearts (Lambert). In spite of all the groundbreaking steps that were made in this field, new steps are still being taken today. There is a new outlook that could prove to advance the field of surgery even further, and it is known as robotic surgery. Due …show more content…
It may be a recent and developing field, but has proved to be beneficial thus far. While human nurses are still the most common, and most surgeons are not using robotic technology, these practices may become outdated in the future with minimally invasive procedures now becoming more available. Robotics has the ability to advance surgery and perform surgical methods that are not achievable by humans. While still incredibly expensive, robotics is now beneficial to the field of surgery, and as time passes this cost will hopefully become more reasonable. While people may be using conventional surgery more often, Robotic Surgery has become a superior