Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

tedgioia.substack.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 76 posts

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#11

Post by DocTomoe »

atdrummond wrote: post #8
pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

One of the first surgeons to break this trend was Robert Liston, who practiced in the early/mid 19th century and was renowned for his speed and results. It definitely seems to me that they were simply unfortunate to be living in the time they were - I’m not sure there were many skilled enough in ocular surgery at that time to have actually aided in their respective recoveries.

This was the same guy, by the way, who managed to have a surgery with a 300% mortality rate[1]. Sometimes speed is not everything.

[1] https://history101.com/the-surgery-300-death-rate

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#12

Post by qikInNdOutReply »

pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

Lest we forget, for surgeries & blood letting with a more positive outcome, the comon men went to ask the barber (thus the blood stained rotating poles). Doctors were really something only nobility could employ.

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#13

Post by P-NP »

Quote from the article: "Dr. Taylor’s standard procedure included administering laxatives and bloodletting from the patient. In addition, Taylor used the blood from slaughtered pigeons as eye drops, and often applied a baked apple to the eye with a bandage. Adding to the abuse, he charged large sums for his procedures—especially if he judged that the patient was wealthy. Bach survived a few weeks after the second procedure, but it seems likely that these failed eye operations directly caused his rapid decline and death. Taylor’s approach was extremely unhygienic, and thus likely to lead to post-surgical infections. I remind readers that antibiotics didn’t exist back then, and an infection, once it had set in, was often fatal. In any event, Bach died on July 28, 1750 at age 65."

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#14

Post by lqet »

lofatdairy wrote: post #7
pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

I won't disagree that medicine has come a long way but I'm going to say that this is a giant disservice to some very great doctors in history. My favorite example is John Bradmore, who saved the life of King Henry V after he was shot in the fucking head with an arrow. Not only was John Bradmore a surgeon, he was also something of metalworker (and in fact, was arrested for making counterfeit coins; he had to be pulled…

Here is an image of the tool:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EyiqN6UXMAAZbrM?format=jpg&name=...

I must admit it's pretty clever.

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#15

Post by t-3 »

reidjs wrote: post #3
pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

I’ve heard this repeatedly, is there any proof doctors used to be useless? Why didn’t they work other jobs? Were they simply con artists?

In Europe, traditionally the local barber was also the surgeon.

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#16

Post by [deleted] »

P-NP wrote: post #13

Quote from the article: "Dr. Taylor’s standard procedure included administering laxatives and bloodletting from the patient. In addition, Taylor used the blood from slaughtered pigeons as eye drops, and often applied a baked apple to the eye with a bandage. Adding to the abuse, he charged large sums for his procedures—especially if he judged that the patient was wealthy. Bach survived a few weeks after the second pro…

[deleted]

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#17

Post by __alexs »

lofatdairy wrote: post #7
pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

I won't disagree that medicine has come a long way but I'm going to say that this is a giant disservice to some very great doctors in history. My favorite example is John Bradmore, who saved the life of King Henry V after he was shot in the fucking head with an arrow. Not only was John Bradmore a surgeon, he was also something of metalworker (and in fact, was arrested for making counterfeit coins; he had to be pulled…

You don't seem to be truly in disagreement with OP, you're just using being more charitable in your description and interpretation of events.

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#19

Post by Asooka »

Tepix wrote: post #18

Nice piece. The guy's name is Georg Friedrich Händel, not Handel. Even if you don't have that letter on your keyboard, you can still find ways to enter it: https://www.confidentgerman.com/how-to-write-umlaut-a-u-o-s-...

Or just spell it Haendel. Though I've found that's a losing battle with the English world.

Re: A doctor who treated Bach and Handel with disastrous results

#20

Post by hef19898 »

qikInNdOutReply wrote: post #12
pessimizer wrote: post #2

This is a bit unfair, all doctors were fucking terrible before the late 19th century, and lowered the lifespan of everyone they touched. They also seemed to prescribe mercury for everything. The only rational use for a doctor back then was if you needed emergency surgery because you were going to die very soon. It was a situation that they could only make better. The problem, I guess, is that the confidence and autho…

Lest we forget, for surgeries & blood letting with a more positive outcome, the comon men went to ask the barber (thus the blood stained rotating poles). Doctors were really something only nobility could employ.

By modern defibitions, doctors during medival period were more theologs than medical professionals.

Barbers and mid wifes were the people to go to. Whej it came to non-organ surgery those were surprisingly good, guven theblimited knowledge and means they worked with.

Post reply on HN