Trends in Anesthesiology

Daniel C. Moore, MD, and the Renaissance of Regional Anesthesia in North America

“…General anesthesia with ether and cyclopropane was being administered at that time by nurses with limited training, and without modern recovery rooms, postoperative patients were transferred directly to the wards. 7 In the week before Dr. Moore came to interview, Dr. Joel Baker, the chief of surgery at the Mason Clinic, experienced the death of two healthy young mothers on the wards in the hours after surgery. During his interview, Dr. Moore demonstrated rapid recovery and alertness in several patients with regional techniques and was promptly offered a position.…”

“…6 And even spinal anesthesia was considered risky because of the frequency of hypotension with this technique. 7 In parallel with these negative developments for regional blockade, major developments in the field of general anesthesia led to its wider application. The introduction of cyclopropane (1930), sodium thiopental (1934), and curare (1942) and improvements in endotracheal intubation all made general anesthesia more acceptable.…”

“…Even John Lundy observed that ''the recent introduction of curare changed the practice with reference to spinal anesthesia.'' 7 Superimposed on this was the change in the political climate in anesthesiology. Several organizations were vying to speak for the specialty, including the American Society of Anesthetists (ASA), the International Anesthesia Research Society, and, to a lesser extent, the first ASRA.…”

Evolution of the Modern Anesthetic Technique

“…Since the volume of statistics generated is great, the data are presented in graphic form in Figures 1 through 7. For comparison, data compiled from other sources are presented in Figures 8,9, and 10.…”