ABSTRACT
From the boiling oil in the days of Ambroise Paré to the 6-mercaptopurine of the transplant surgeons; from the bravery of Caroline of Ansbach to the courage of George VI. The first operation in outer space must surely take place one day and will no doubt be relayed world-wide on whatever viewing apparatus people will be wearing on their wrists at the time. The first ‘Famous Operation’ to be performed by a female surgeon is still, as far as the author know, a thing of the future. This in spite of the fact that more and more women are now surgeons; many occupy senior positions and there has already been the first female President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. When there were problems getting equipment, the author thought of Robert Liston, who, within days of hearing about ether, had the drug obtained, the apparatus built and the first patient under its influence on the operating table.
