The Derision Which Was Unable to Prevent the Incision
“Think for a moment what would have been the result of failure. A coroner’s jury and a verdict of willful murder, which at the time would have been pronounced correct by the entire medical profession throughout the civilized globe.”
~The Courier-Journal "A Tribute to McDowell's Genius" December 5th, 1909
Despite the confidence of McDowell and Mrs. Crawford, others who heard about the incision during and after were in disbelief.
It wasn’t an attack on McDowell. It was simply disbelief that any doctor could cut into a patient’s abdomen without the demise of the patient. In 1825, Dr. James Johnson, editor of the London-Medico-Chirurgical Review (sic), argued of McDowell's landmark operation: In despite of all that has been written respecting this cruel operation, we entirely disbelieve that it has ever been performed with success, nor do we think it ever will. Two years later he retracted his disrespect: There were circumstances in the narrative...that raised misgivings in our minds, for which uncharitableness we ask the pardon of God and of Doctor MacDowel (sic) of Danville The derision was no match for Mrs. Crawford’s courage however. Knowing her children were waiting for her to return safely home surely fueled her eagerness to let McDowell operate. |
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Derision has always been rampant. Even in the 21st century, there are physicians who, although aware of McDowell's contribution, fail to recognize aspects that made his first Ovariotomy revolutionary. Either they believe Robert Houstoun was the first, that James McDowell actually performed it (with Ephraim assisting), or that it was not actually successful.
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Jean Bowra, author of "Making a Man, a Great Man: Ephraim McDowell, Ovariotomy and History" claims that in 1701, another doctor was faced with the task of performing an ovariotomy.
Here is Bowra's telling of the story of Houstoun's not-so-landmark surgery: When faced with an abdominal cavity filled with a slippery substance, [Dr. Robert] Houstoun was forced to resort to a most unusual medical instrument to remove it all. He used a fir-splinter, 'such as the poor in that country use to burn instead of candles', wrapped with lint for thrusting into the wound. He proceeded to remove the substance using a motion similar to that of whirling fairy floss, turning and winding, eventually withdrawing more than two yards of the material. Since the mass was described as about ten inches wide and was followed by a further nine quarts of similar material containing pieces of membrane which he thought were parts of an ovary, this could be considered as invasive abdominal surgery. |
McDowell, on the contrary, knew what he was doing before, during, and after the surgery, and knew exactly what was a vital part of Mrs. Crawford and what was the tumor.
He made a 9" incision from the beginning, which shows that he knew what a tumor was like and was prepared to remove it in entire (sic).
He made a 9" incision from the beginning, which shows that he knew what a tumor was like and was prepared to remove it in entire (sic).