The idea was suddenly sparked by a book Joseph Lister read.

Reading a book can make a difference. Can you believe that a doctor who read a book brought about a change in the way he performed surgery? The doctor realized that reading books could make a difference.

Lister was in charge of the new surgical department at the Glasgow National Hospital. Joseph Lister was the best doctor who had studied medicine at a university in England.

He was appointed to the surgical department because many patients died due to infections during surgery, and no doctor could successfully complete the operation. Therefore, Lister was entrusted with the operation of the hospital.

The death rate of patients kept increasing. Lister, who studied this, saw that deadly diseases such as muscle wasting often occurred after surgery, so Lister kept his surroundings very clean.

However, he could not stop the death rate, and Lister ordered the hospital to be cleaned and kept hygienic. Some doctors believed that the toxic air in the hospital was the cause of this infection.

Lister, who was wondering what to do, read a research paper written by Pasteur one day. He learned from the book that certain microorganisms were responsible for causing diseases. From that, Lister had an important idea.

If wounds are infected by germs, the best way to prevent post-operative deaths is to kill the germs before they enter the open wounds, and he began his research with this in mind.

Joseph Lister

As a result of his research, he found that carbolic acid has the ability to kill pathogens. Using this carbolic acid, Lister started the sterilization method. Accordingly, he developed a sterilization method before each operation. The instruments and all materials used for surgery were sterilized. He also sprayed carbolic acid in the operating room.

After his sterilization method, deaths decreased significantly. The mortality rate in the hospital where he worked decreased from 45% to 15%. During the operation, jute and silk thread were used to suture wounds. After stitching, it was customary to leave this thread or jute part exposed.

After the wound healed, this area was cut out, but Lister noticed that pathogens entered the wound through the protruding parts, so he invented fibres that could dissolve inside the wound. The wounds were sewn with fibres taken from the intestinal muscle of sheep. He greatly reduced the incidence of infection.

Every small discovery can make a big difference to humanity.