This object is named after Robert Liston (1794-1847), a renowned surgeon in England who made a name for himself for his many successful operations prior to the invention of anaesthesia. This meant that all of Liston’s patients would be awake whilst undergoing surgery, and therefore all operations would have to be conducted quickly and efficiently in order to avoid excessive pain and blood loss. During the 19th century, surgeries frequently had a mortality rate of 1 in 4 or higher, including deaths both during the surgery itself and due to resulting infections. Liston on the other hand, only had a mortality rate of 1 in 10, with this being attributed to his cleaning of his tools and clothes between operations, whereas other surgeons saw bloody aprons as a symbol of pride in their work.
Liston was notorious for being a very speedy surgeon, and he often encouraged his audiences to time his surgeries. His speed would sometimes be the cause of accidents and mortalities, with one famous (and possibly apocryphal) occasion resulting in the deaths of three individuals during a single surgery. In his haste to complete an amputation to the standard of his reputation, Liston accidentally cut off the fingers of his assistant, and whilst pulling the blade away managed to cut the coat-tails of a spectator, who collapsed in shock and immediately died. Initially, both the assistant and patient survived the surgery, but would later die due to resulting infection. Therefore, Liston achieved the shocking feat of performing a single surgery with a mortality rate of 300%. Towards the end of his life, on 21st December 1846, he performed Europe's first public operation using modern anaesthesia (ether).
Alexander Walker, Hidden Histories project participant
