Surgery in the early 1800s had not really improved since the days of Paré in the 1500s.

Three main problems remained:

Pain: there were no reliable anaesthetics. The surgeon would rush to minimise the suffering of their patient and the patient would be wriggling about. Therefore surgery had to be quick and crude - it was impossible to be precise. Although opium and alcohol had been tried they did not completely remove the pain and many surgeons avoided them as they could thin the blood, increasing blood loss.
Infection: there was no understanding of germs and half of all patients died from septicaemia.
Blood Loss: ligatures were used to reduce blood loss but there was no way to replace lost blood.

Therefore surgery was fast, crude and highly dangerous. About 50% of patients died.

GCSE Health and the People AQA

Problems in Surgery in the 1800s