1500 |
First reported successful Cesarean section (mother and child surviving). |
Jacob Nufer |
1701 |
First successful ovariotomy. |
Robert Houstoun |
1795 |
Pueperal sepsis first proposed to be due to infectious contagion as a result of observational, epidemiologic study in Aberdeen, Scotland. |
Alexander Gordon |
1809 |
First ovarian cystectomy (Danville, Kentucky). |
Ephraim McDowell |
1812 |
First recorded vaginal hysterectomy (performed accidentally and unplanned). |
Palletta |
1813 |
First modern, documented total vaginal hysterectomy (though certainly not the first). |
C.J.M. Langenbeck |
1825 |
First ever blood transfusion, performed for postpartum hemorrhage. |
James Blundell |
1827 |
Fetal heart tone auscultated for the first time. |
John Creery Ferguson |
1833 |
First detailed account of fetal heart tones made. |
Evory Kennedy |
1843 |
First abdominal hysterectomy (the patient died). |
Charles Clay |
1846 |
Ether first administered to a woman in labor. |
Crawford Williamson Long |
1847 |
Puerperal fever shown to be caused by infectious contagion through interventional trial proving that it could be prevented. |
Ignaz Semmelweis |
1847 |
Chloroform first used as an anesthetic, used during labor. |
James Young Simpson |
1849 |
Vesicovaginal fistula successfully treated with surgery. |
J. Marion Sims |
June, 1853 |
First successful adbominal hysterectomy (Lowell, Massachusetts) |
Walter Burnham |
Sept., 1853 |
First successful, planned abdominal hysterectomy (Lowell, Massachusetts) |
Gilman Kimbell |
1866 |
First human artificial insemination. |
J. Marion Sims |
1869 |
First operative hysteroscopy performed. |
D. Commander Pantaleoni |
1872 |
First oopherectomy for sepsis. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1872 |
First bilateral oopherectomy for menorrhagia. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1876 |
First successful Cesarean-Hysterectomy. |
Edoardo Porro |
1878 |
First cholecystotomy (patient died). |
J. Marion Sims |
1879 |
First successful cholecystotomy. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1880 |
First removal of hydatid cust. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1880 |
First appendectomy for acute appendicitis. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1882 |
Classical Cesarean Section technique (including closing myotomy) first described. |
Max Sänger |
1883 |
First successful salpingectomy for ectopic pregnancy. |
Robert Lawson Tait |
1890 |
First successful series of vaginal cesarean sections reported. |
Alfred Duhrssen |
1894 |
Use of rubber gloves in surgery popularized. |
Hunter Robb (Gyn.) |
1898 |
First successful radical abdominal hysterectomy for cervical cancer. |
Ernst Wertheim |
1900 |
Transverse skin and fascial incision reported. |
Hermann Pfannenstiel (Gyn.) |
1900 |
Spinal anesthesia first used in labor. |
Oskar Kreis (Ob.) |
1901 |
Epidural anesthesia first used in labor. |
Walter Stoeckel (Ob.) |
1901 |
First successful laparoscopy performed (through incision in vaginal fornix). |
Dimitri Oh (Gyn.) |
1921 |
Lower uterine segment incision for cesarean section shown to be superior. |
John Martin Munro Kerr |
1936 |
Sulphonamides first used to treat puerperal fever in Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. |
Leonard Colebrook |
1941 |
First screening test for cancer introduced (for cervical cancer). |
Geroge Nicholas Papanicolau |
1942 |
Penicillin first used successfully in a human patient, Anne Miller, to treat septic abortion. |
Orvan Hess (Ob.) |
1943 |
Clinical efficacy and pharmicokinetics of Penicillin established (originally for treatment of syphilis). |
Wallace E. Herrell |
1944 |
Modern laparoscopy technique introduced (insufflation, Trendelenburg position, etc.). |
Raoul Palmer (Gyn.) |
1953 |
Oxytocin synthesized (the first posterior pituitary hormone synthesized) |
Vincent du Vigneaud |
1958 |
Ultrasound developed (originally for obstetric use). |
Ian Donald |
1958 |
First solid tumor cured by chemotherapy (choriocarcinoma, methotrexate). |
Hertz and Li |
1960 |
Automatic insufflator invented for laparoscopy. |
Kurst Semm (Gyn.) |
1978 |
In vitro fertilization first performed successfully. |
Patrick Christopher Steptoe |
1987 |
First laparascopic cholecystectomy performed (during a gynecologic laparoscopy). |
Philippe Mouret |