Surgical Technology

Surgical technological development after the discovery of anesthesia and the acceptance of antisepsis in the 19th century essentially involved operative instrumentation. Refinement of clamps, re tractors, scalpels, and other devices in use then continued into the 20th century. Surgical efforts focused on ways to extirpate or correct disease processes, and new innovative procedures were developed. But the technology used to perform those operations remained relatively unchanged for almost 100 years. Surgeons of the 1890s would not have been unduly uncomfortable with the operating instruments of the 1990s. Technology, although important, did not drive surgical practice.

However, since the last half of the 20th century and now into the 21st century, medicine and surgery have become technology-driven professions. Spectacular medical achievements have been accomplished that have, in large measure, been due to advances in technology. These advances have enabled physicians to diagnose and treat disease more accurately than ever before. Computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and radioisotope studies have revolutionized the field of diagnostic imaging. Ultrasound (US) has given gynecologists an office-based tool to accurately diagnose female genital tract disease without ionizing radiation. Serum channel autoanalyzers, surgical intensive care monitoring, and cardiac pacemakers are other examples of technology that has advanced medical care.