Belly-Rippers, Surgical Innovation and the Ovariotomy Controversy Sally Frampton Faculty of English University of Oxford Oxford, UK
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medicine and biomedical sciences in modern history sciences modern in biomedical and medicine BELLY-RIPPERS, SURGICAL INNOVATION AND THE OVARIOTOMY CONTROVERSY SALLY FRAMPTON Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Modern History Series Editors Carsten Timmermann University of Manchester Manchester, UK Michael Worboys University of Manchester Manchester, UK The aim of this series is to illuminate the development and impact of medicine and the biomedical sciences in the modern era. The series was founded by the late Professor John Pickstone, and its ambitions refect his commitment to the integrated study of medicine, science and tech- nology in their contexts. He repeatedly commented that it was a pity that the foundation discipline of the feld, for which he popularized the acronym ‘HSTM’ (History of Science, Technology and Medicine) had been the history of science rather than the history of medicine. His point was that historians of science had too often focused just on scientifc ideas and institutions, while historians of medicine always had to consider the understanding, management and meanings of diseases in their socio-economic, cultural, technological and political contexts. In the event, most of the books in the series dealt with medicine and the biomedical sciences, and the changed series title refects this. However, as the new editors we share Professor Pickstone’s enthusiasm for the inte- grated study of medicine, science and technology, encouraging studies on biomedical science, translational medicine, clinical practice, disease histories, medical technologies, medical specialisms and health policies. The books in this series will present medicine and biomedical science as crucial features of modern culture, analysing their economic, social and political aspects, while not neglecting their expert content and con- text. Our authors investigate the uses and consequences of technical knowledge, and how it shaped, and was shaped by, particular economic, social and political structures. In re-launching the Series, we hope to build on its strengths but extend its geographical range beyond Western Europe and North America. Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Modern History is intended to supply analysis and stimulate debate. All books are based on searching historical study of topics which are important, not least because they cut across conventional academic boundaries. They should appeal not just to historians, nor just to medical practitioners, scientists and engineers, but to all who are interested in the place of medicine and biomedical sciences in modern history. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15183 Sally Frampton Belly-Rippers, Surgical Innovation and the Ovariotomy Controversy Sally Frampton Faculty of English University of Oxford Oxford, UK Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in Modern History ISBN 978-3-319-78610-0 ISBN 978-3-319-78934-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78934-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018943282 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018. This book is an open access publication. Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this book are included in the book’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the book’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. Cover illustration: ‘T. Spencer Wells, Diseases of the ovaries.’ Credit: Wellcome Collection. CC BY This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland He wrote succinctly and would not tolerate misuse of the English language—to the patient who asked ‘Do I need surgery, Sir?’ he replied, ‘Everyone needs surgery, Madam, what you need is an operation!’ Obituary of Lord Russell Brock, surgeon. (1903–1980). In loving memory of Jo Wright. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book started life back in 2009, as I embarked on my Ph.D. Located at the Centre for the History of Medicine at University College London, I was fortunate to have Roger Cooter as my supervisor. Roger provided a great deal of support throughout the process, very often opening my eyes to new and challenging ways in which to take my research. Thanks are due both to him and to Christopher Lawrence, who inspired much of my initial interest in the history of surgery and who never hesitated to read drafts and offer advice even when he would probably have rather been playing golf. Along the way I have met and worked with many fantastic and colle- gial historians who, whether by reading drafts, chatting over a pint or giv- ing me the time and space to write the book, have helped me to improve and refne my work. Thank you especially to Geoff Belknap, Michael Brown, Sarah Chaney, Berris Charnley, Gowan Dawson, Marguerite Dupree, Stephanie Eichberg, Sheldon Gosline, Nick Hopwood, Claire L. Jones, John Mathew, Tom Quick, Carole Reeves, Thomas Schlich, Sonu Shamdasani, Sally Shuttleworth, Steve Sturdy, Jennifer Wallis and Andrew Wear. I’d also like to acknowledge the support I have had dur- ing the last four years from the Constructing Scientifc Communities project at the University of Oxford and from the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Thanks also to Molly Beck and Oliver Dyer at Palgrave Macmillan who have been supportive and helpful throughout the edito- rial process. ix x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I have been lucky to have had access to an array of archival material which has helped shape the book and I am grateful to all the library and archives staff who have assisted me along the way. Thanks especially to Louise King at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and Jérôme van Wijland at l’Académie Nationale de Médecine. I am indebted also to Caroline de Costa and Nicolas Bourdet for helping make available the image of Samuel Pozzi included in Chapter 5. My parents Bob and Susan Frampton, and sister and brother Lucy and Daniel and their families have been a great source of love and encourage- ment over the years. My friends have provided respite and listening ears. Thanks especially to Emily Green, Natalie Jayasekara, Rob Lavine, Alice Leggatt, David Raznick, Lee Webber and Bob Winckworth, all of whom now know more about the history of surgery than they probably ever wished to. My late grandparents José and Don Blewitt played a large part in sparking my early interest in history. To them I owe them a great deal. I met James Thorniley in 2009, two weeks before I began my Ph.D. He has been unfailing in his support ever since. Our daughter Lara arrived in 2016. The two of them bring me more happiness than they could ever know. This work was generously supported by the Wellcome Trust [grant number 063019]. Portions of Chapter 2 were frst published as ‘The Debris of Life: Diseased Ovaries in Eighteenth-Century Medicine’, in Raymond Stephanson and Darren N. Wagner (eds.) The Secrets of Generation: Reproduction in the Long Eighteenth Century (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 344–363. Reproduced with the Permission of the University of Toronto Press. Portions of Chapter 4 were frst published as ‘Honour and Subsistence: Invention, Credit and Surgery in the Nineteenth Century’, British Journal for the History of Science 49 no. 4 (2016). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The article is available to read here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5647581/. Portions of Chapters 4 and 6 were frst published as ‘Defning Difference: Competing Forms of Ovarian Surgery in the Nineteenth Century’, in Thomas Schlich and Christopher Crenner (eds.) Technological Change in Modern Surgery: Historical Perspective on Innovation (Rochester: University of Rochester Press, 2017). This is an Open Access book chapter, distributed under the terms of the Creative Acknowledgements xi Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/). The chapter is available to read here: https://www.ncbi.nlm. nih.gov/books/NBK441819/. CONTENTS 1 Introduction 1 2 Pathologies, Actions, Ideas 21 3 Creating a Surgical Controversy 49 4 Patent Concerns, Unpatentable Procedures 93 5 The Business of Surgery 131 6 The Afterlife of an Operation 171 7 Conclusion 213 Bibliography 221 Index 261 xiii LIST OF FIGURES Fig. 2.1 Illustration of a woman with an abdominal dropsy taken from Jean-Louis-Marc Alibert’s Nosologie Naturelle (1817). Her abdomen is visibly swollen with fuid, showing how the condition could easily create the illusion of pregnancy.