Morton's tenacity driven by enthusiasm and discovery, he and renowned surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital, John Collins Warren (1778-1856) made history on October 16, 1846 with the first successful surgical procedure performed with anesthesia. Dr.

When was anesthesia invented?

Modern medicine would not be possible without anesthesia. An early form of anesthesia was first used at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston by dentist William T.G. Morton and surgeon John Warren on October 16, 1846.

What was used before anesthesia?

Before the advent of anaesthetics in the 1840s, surgical operations were conducted with little or no pain relief and were attended with great suffering and emotional distress. It has generally been assumed that in order to cope with such challenges, surgeons developed a culture of dispassion and emotional detachment.