In 1867 Joseph Lister published his antiseptic method; in 1870 he reported that deaths after amputation on his wards fell from about 45% to 15%, figures that were disputed for years.
Notes on verification
Well-documented historical medical milestone, corroborated by The Lancet's original publication, Royal College of Surgeons, and peer-reviewed medical history sources.
Sources
- The case of the cancerous stomach | Wellcome Collection (wellcomecollection.org)
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3341916/ (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/joseph-lister/ (rcseng.ac.uk)
- https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(67)90128-4/fulltext (thelancet.com)