Joseph Lister introduced antiseptic surgery. This is using chemicals to kill bacteria. Before Lister, roughly half (46%) of all patients who had an operation died from septicaemia (infection). Lister was aware of Pasteur’s germ theory. He used carbolic acid to soak the wound, the surgeon’s hands and the instruments. He first used carbolic acid in 1865 and then developed a spray in 1867. He cut the death rate by two thirds to only one in six (16%).

Opposition

Lister’s ideas were slow to be accepted for several reasons:

Slow acceptance of germ theory, many didn’t believe such tiny micro-organisms could kill a healthy person
Some surgeons copied Lister’s methods but didn’t achieve as good results
Antiseptic surgery slowed down operations and was unpleasant to work with
Lister was arrogant and many disliked being told their traditional methods were wrong.

Acceptance

Antiseptic surgery was accepted by most surgeons by the late 1870s. In 1877 Lister moved from Edinburgh to London where he could demonstrate his methods. In 1878 Robert Koch identified the bacterium that causes septicaemia which helped to prove Lister’s ideas.
By the 1890s antiseptic surgery was replaced by aseptic surgery (ensuring a sterile environment in the operating theatre).

GCSE Health and the People AQA

Surgery: dealing with Infection