as a surgeon, it’s always funny to see either of the two popular posts about william halsted that have been going around. no one seems to connect “halsted who invented surgical gloves for his wife” with “halsted who did a lot of cocaine and decided surgical residents should work inhumane hours”
he did in fact invent surgical gloves for one of his nurses, who he later married. in a time when few doctors had embraced the concept of germ theory, he was a great believer in sterility and cleanliness in his operating room, and the chemicals he used as disinfectants (like carbolic acid) were not very gentle on the skin. when he worked at bellevue hospital in new york, he had a tent constructed on the lawn because he didn’t want to share OR space with surgeons who didn’t wash their hands or their instruments
he was also addicted to cocaine, an addiction that started when german scientists suggested it could be used as a local anesthetic. he felt it was his duty to try the drug before giving it to anyone else. he also believed that residents could only achieve adequate training by working basically all the time, and, well, cocaine is certainly one way to keep yourself awake
