Unbelievable, but true.
Robert Liston, a Scottish surgeon (1784-1847) practised orthopaedic surgery all over Britain. He obtained specialisation in amputations, practising in an era when anaesthesia was in infancy. Cutting and sawing on a conscious, screaming patient took strong nerves and a strong stomach. The shorter the operation, Liston thought, the lesser the pain the patient would have to endure and the greater the chance that the patient might outlive the operation. He earned a reputation that he could amputate a leg in two minutes. This was indeed a remarkable feat, but his penchant for swift surgery once resulted in a record that is unbreakable.
Once Liston operated so fast that he accidentally amputated an assistant’s fingers along with a patient’s leg. The patient and the assistant both died of sepsis, and a spectator reportedly died of shock, resulting in the only known procedure with a 300% mortality!
