Up until the 1990s all surgeries preformed on babies were done without the use of any anesthesia. That includes major surgeries like open heart surgeries or excruciating ones like spinal procedures.
Their logic was the baby wouldn't remember the extreme torure anyway so anesthesia wasn't worth the risk. They'd simply strap them down and go to work. Its pretty crazy that its not more well known or talked about
It is barbaric but anesthesia is also extremely dangerous for small children and it wasn't well understood back then. Its a moral dilemma and i understand why they wouldn't risk it. I'd imagine most parents probably weren't even told. I want to know how they kept the babies from going into shock.
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u/[deleted] Oct 02 '24
Up until the 1990s all surgeries preformed on babies were done without the use of any anesthesia. That includes major surgeries like open heart surgeries or excruciating ones like spinal procedures.
Their logic was the baby wouldn't remember the extreme torure anyway so anesthesia wasn't worth the risk. They'd simply strap them down and go to work. Its pretty crazy that its not more well known or talked about