Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted Hardcover – February 2, 2010
Author: Visit Amazon's Gerald Imber Page | Language: English | ISBN: 1607146274 | Format: PDF, EPUB
Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted – February 2, 2010
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Direct download links available Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted Hardcover – February 2, 2010 for everyone book with Mediafire Link Download Link Books with free ebook downloads available Genius on the Edge: The Bizarre Double Life of Dr. William Stewart Halsted – February 2, 2010
- Hardcover: 412 pages
- Publisher: Kaplan Publishing; 1 edition (February 2, 2010)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1607146274
- ISBN-13: 978-1607146278
- Product Dimensions: 1.5 x 6.3 x 9.5 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #518,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
"Genius on the Edge" is an interesting book describing the medical developments (especially in surgery) during the period of about 1846 to 1922. The first third of the book mainly focused on what surgery was like before this period, on the developments that occurred from 1846 to 1889, and how they affected Halsted's medical training and prompted his surgical innovations. The rest of the book was more a series of short biographies of men who worked with Halsted and the developments they (and he) brought to the practice of surgery from 1889-1922. It also covered Halsted's marriage and how he lived.
The author didn't assume that the reader was familiar with medical terms and so concisely worked that information in as was needed to understand the innovations. He did an excellent job of making the topic fascinating and easy to understand. I found the book a quick read despite the amount of information packed into it. I also liked how the author wove the general technological changes and social setting into the story so we could see how society effected the advances and how Halsted and the others influenced society in turn. While the book mostly focused on American surgery (especially that done at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine), the author also brought up related advances over in Europe.
There were only a couple of brief descriptions of actual surgery, so most of the book probably wouldn't bother those who get queasy by descriptions of operations.
Some of the topics covered were: the introduction of general anesthetics, heat sterilization, and antiseptics to make surgery safer. How medical training had been done and how it changed (both in medical school and post-graduate) under the influence of Halsted and his friends at Johns Hopkins.
Genius on the Edge by Dr. Gerald Imber MD
Kaplan Publishing
Title of the Review: Genius Recognized
Reviewed by: Dr. Joseph S. Maresca CPA, CISA
The author, Dr. Gerald Imber, MD does an excellent job of
documenting the life and times of Dr. William S. Halsted MD.
Dr. William Stewart Halsted was educated in New York initially.
He attended Yale and the College of Physicians and Surgeons
at 23rd St. and 4th Av. in NYC.
Scholastically, he graduated in the top 10 of his class
and won $100 in an essay contest for the description of
the arteries of the neck. He worked at
New York Hospital and read extensive surgical
scholarship written in Europe. He held positions at
Blackwell's Island and Emigrant Hospital, although the
workload was staggering .
At an early age, he began to understand the intricacies
of blood group incompatibility. He found that intestinal
anastomosis using fine silk sutures incorporating the submucosal
layer withstood the pressures of normal bodily functions.
He demonstrated this aspect graphically.
By 1889, rubber sterile gloves were introduced to protect
the skin from irritation. Halsted perfected radical surgery
with extensive fine suturing for breast cancer.
He reconstructed hernia defects in the groin by using muscle
and tough fascial sheath of the oblique muscles of the lower
abdomen to reconstruct the inguinal canal floor. Halsted sutured
the muscles and fascia to Poupart's ligament, an anatomical
inguinal ligament that traverses the iliac bone of the pubis.
Strong silk sutures were used to tighten the internal abdominal
ring as well.
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