“Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity – not a threat.”
– Steve Jobs
Imagine having a hole drilled into your skull without adequate analgesia and anesthesia. The stakes intraoperatively are high, with the risk of dying from postoperative complications possibly even higher. This sounds horrifying, but this was the reality for patients during the infancy stages of surgery. Patients would often choose surgery as a last option, while others resorted to suicide rather than undergo a traumatizing procedure. On October 16, 1846, Dr. William T.G. Morton and Dr. John C. Warren forever changed the surgical landscape when they worked together to perform the first surgical procedure under anesthesia (J Invest Surg 2012;25:141-9). This moment showed the world that surgery could be performed under anesthesia safely and essentially free of pain. This historical event exemplifies the importance of the relationship and communication between the surgeon...
