From an eminent surgeon and historian comes the âby turns fascinating and ghastlyâ (The New York Times Book Review, Editorsâ Choice) story of surgeryâs developmentâfrom the Stone Age to the present dayâblending meticulous medical research with vivid storytelling.
There are not many life events that can be as simultaneously frightening and hopeful as a surgical operation. In America, tens-of-millions of major surgical procedures are performed annually, yet few of us consider the magnitude of these figures because we have such inherent confidence in surgeons. And, despite passionate debates about health care and the mediaâs endless fascination with surgery, most of us have no idea how the first surgeons came to be because the story of surgery has never been fully told. Now, Empire of the Scalpel elegantly reveals surgeryâs fascinating evolution from its early roots in ancient Egypt to its refinement in Europe and rise to scientific dominance in the United States.
From the 16th-century saga of Andreas Vesalius and his crusade to accurately describe human anatomy while appeasing the conservative clergy who clamored for his burning at the stake, to the hard-to-believe story of late-19th century surgeonsâ apathy to Joseph Listerâs innovation of antisepsis and how this indifference led to thousands of unnecessary surgical deaths, Empire of the Scalpel is both a global history and a uniquely American tale. Youâll discover how in the 20th century the US achieved surgical leadership, heralded by Harvardâs Joseph Murray and his Nobel Prizeâwinning, seemingly impossible feat of transplanting a kidney, which ushered in a new era of transplants that continues to make procedures once thought insurmountable into achievable successes.
Today, the list of possible operations is almost infiniteâfrom knee and hip replacement to heart bypass and transplants to fat reduction and rhinoplastyâand âRutkow has a raconteurâs touchâ (San Francisco Chronicle) as he draws on his five-decade career to show us how we got here. Comprehensive, authoritative, and captivating, Empire of the Scalpel is âa fascinating, well-rendered story of how the once-impossible became a daily realityâ (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).