The development of anesthesiology in Ukraine: a way from art to science
The history of surgery can be divided into two main parts: before and after 1846. In this work, the authors introduced the main milestones and stages of anesthesiology development in Ukraine in chronological order. We focused on doctors who for the first time ever performed operations under general and local anesthesia. In 1846, Pyrohov’s students V.O. Karavaiev and A.P. Walter investigated the ether influence on the animal organism in experiment in Kyiv. On February 18, 1847, V.O. Karavaiev performed first surgery under the ether anesthesia. T.L. Vanzetti performed the second in Ukraine operation under the ether anesthesia in Kharkiv. And by the end of 1847, chloroform anesthesia was used by V.O. Karavaiev in Kyiv. In 1871, V.F. Grube carried out the first operation under nitrous oxide anesthesia in Kharkiv. In the 19th century, methods of regional cocaine anesthesia were widely implemented in surgical practice. Ukrainian surgeons were pioneers of local anesthesia. In 1886, Kyiv surgeon A.I. Lukashevych conducted experiments on himself and on other healthy people with the use of peripheral nerve anesthesia. In 1915, after the graduation from St. Volodymyr University in Kyiv, V.F. Voino-Yasenetskiy published a book “Regional anesthesia” in St. Petersburg, it was illustrated by the author. The number of surgeries performed under anesthesia increased in geometric progression after the revolution. There was a need for constant supervision of patient’s state and the medical staff that will carry it out. That was the beginning of the formation of anesthesiology as a science and as a specialty.