Dr. Mütter’s Marvels: A True Tale of Intrigue and Innovation at the Dawn of Modern Medicine

Dr. Mutter pioneered plastic surgery in Philadelphia in the 1830s; some of his techniques were highly successful throughout the next century. When anesthesia was finally discovered he championed its use, overcoming the skeptics of the established medical community. He insisted on strict cleanliness and an aseptic operating room, in an era when the germ theory of disease and even the very existence of microbes were in question. Perhaps most importantly, he saw his patients as real humans, real people, and saw his role as a physician, surgeon, and instructor as a sacred calling to alleviate suffering, while his peers regarded their patients merely as ‘cases’ or even ‘monsters’. This incredible book tells his amazing story in a gripping narrative that keeps you fascinated. It is not for the weak-stomached: though surgeries are described with remarkable restraint, sensitive readers will recoil at the description of horrific conditions and operations conducted without anesthesia. Nonetheless, the amazing transformations Dr. Mutter effected may leave you, as they left me, with the unusual sensation of feeling revulsion immediately overpowered by wonder and joy. He was an amazing man, and here his story is beautifully and lovingly retold, a fitting tribute to a long-forgotten hero of his time.