Joseph Lister (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was a
British surgeon and a pioneer of antiseptic surgery, who promoted the idea of
sterile surgery while working at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. Lister
successfully introduced carbolic acid (now known as phenol) to sterilise
surgical instruments and to clean wounds, which led to a reduction in
post-operative infections and made surgery safer for patients.
Lister was interested in surgery from an early stage
- he was present at the first surgical procedure carried out under anaesthetic
in 1846. Lister continued his studies in London and passed his examinations,
becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in 1852. He was recommended
to visit Professor of Clinical Surgery James Syme (1799-1870) in Edinburgh and
became his dresser, then house surgeon and then his son-in-law.
Lister moved to Glasgow in 1860 and became a
Professor of Surgery. He read Pasteur's work on micro-organisms and decided to
experiment with using one of Pasteur's proposed techniques, that of exposing
the wound to chemicals. He chose dressings soaked with carbolic acid (phenol)
to cover the wound and the rate of infection was vastly reduced. Lister then
experimented with hand-washing, sterilising instruments and spraying carbolic
in the theatre while operating, in order to limit infection. His lowered
infection rate was very good and Listerian principles were adopted throughout
many countries by a number of surgeons. Lister is now known as the ‘father of
antiseptic.
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