Sir Thomas Lauder Brunton, after whom this object is named, was a British physician who mainly focused on pharmacology and therapeutics. In 1889, the Lancet medical journal nominated Brunton to participate in the 2nd Hyderabad Cloroform Commission in India to study chloroform anaesthetics. After supervising a certain amount of experimenting on dogs and monkeys, Brunton concluded that chloroform would not cause heart failure. Since 1831, the safety of chloroform had been considered a major medical issue, and it was believed that chloroform might have effects on the heart. This is why Brunton’s findings about chloroform were questioned. in 1902, Brunton also proposed that mitral stenosis (a form of heart disease) might be treated by surgery. He wrote in the Lancet that the mechanical opening of a stenosis with a blade may be satisfactory. However, due to the Lancet having
lost confidence in Brunton and his views on chloroform, his encouragement of mitral valve surgery was severely condemned as well. He was also warned against inciting others.
But it turned out that Brunton's view was forward-looking, as confirmed by an operation performed by Sir Henry Souttar in 1923, when a 12-year-old girl who had mitral stenosis was admitted to a clinic. There was no way to save her life except mitral valve surgery, so Souttar boldly performed the controversial surgery on the girl. The operation was very successful, and there were no complications during the postoperative recovery process. She was discharged 12 days after the operation and died of pneumococcal pneumonia four and a half years later. As a result, experts developed increased enthusiasm for further clinical attempts, as it gave them the courage to alleviate a chronic disease that had no treatment at the time. The success of this surgery has led to important advances in the surgical treatment of mitral stenosis, and it also demonstrated the importance of courage and innovation.
