science · 25 December 1809 · 215 years ago
In 1809, the first U.S. ovariotomy (the surgical removal of an ovarian tumour) was performed at his Danville, Ky. practice by Dr. Ephraim McDowell (1771-1830), the “Father of Ovariotomy.” A few days before, on 13 Dec, he had travelled 60 miles 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. After she was transported to his surgery, McDowell operated, and removed 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.
OnThisDay.net