Travels of a Female Physician in the Ming Dynasty

"The biggest enemy during surgery is infection." I explained to Zhu Yuan while looking at the scalpel in my hand that I had just used.

Although the blade was still sharp, the surface was stained with blood and bacteria.

In modern medicine, disinfection is a basic part of surgery, but in the Ming Dynasty, the concept of disinfection almost did not exist.

Doctors often simply rinse the instruments with water and at most wipe them with alcohol, but this is far from enough.

"Miss Yang, is disinfection really that important?" Zhu Yuan leaned over, a puzzled look on his face. "I've seen our imperial doctors wipe surgical instruments with liquor after use, right? Besides, the ancients did that, and there weren't any major problems, right?"

"No problems?" I smiled helplessly and shook my head. "Don't underestimate this. Many patients appear to be in good health after surgery, but a few days later they suddenly develop a fever, their wounds fester, or even develop sepsis, causing their condition to worsen. A large part of these problems is due to unclean surgical instruments and the environment, which can lead to bacterial infection."

Zhu Yuan's expression changed slightly when he heard this: "Is it that serious? What should we do now? We can't just use a knife once and then throw it away!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Of course not. But we do need to find a more effective sterilization method to ensure the sterility of surgical instruments and the operating environment. Especially for complex surgeries, the cleanliness of the instruments directly determines the patient's survival rate."

Zhu Yuan scratched his head, his eyes full of confusion. "Sterile? That sounds a bit mysterious... Miss Yang, are you going to come up with some new invention?"

I nodded. "Yes, this time we're introducing real disinfection methods—high-temperature disinfection and alcohol sterilization. These methods are very important in medicine, used to kill bacteria and viruses on instruments."

"High-temperature disinfection?" Zhu Yuan's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean, throw all those scalpels, scissors, and so on into the fire and burn them?"

"Almost the same, but not directly with fire," I laughed. "We can use steam or boiling water for high-temperature sterilization. This kills bacteria without damaging the sharpness of the instruments. Alcohol disinfection can be used to wipe surgical instruments and the patient's wounds, achieving a two-pronged solution."

Zhu Yuan was stunned. "That does make sense! Let's try it out and see how effective high-temperature disinfection is."

A few days later, Zhu Yuan and I began to conduct high-temperature disinfection experiments in the Imperial Hospital.

We found some less commonly used surgical instruments, built a simple steamer device, filled it with water, and put the instruments in to boil.

Zhu Yuan stood aside, staring at the steaming pot with curiosity, holding a long chopstick in his hand, and wanted to reach in to stir it from time to time.

"Don't move!" I quickly stopped him. "This is for high-temperature disinfection. If you put your hand in there, I'm afraid your hand will need treatment before the operation is even completed."

Zhu Yuan immediately retracted his hand and said with an embarrassed smile, "Hehe, I'm just curious. This thing looks quite novel. Miss Yang, do you think boiling this will really kill all those 'bacteria'?"

"Of course," I nodded. "Bacteria can't survive at high temperatures. This way, we can ensure the sterility of surgical instruments and reduce the possibility of postoperative infection."

As the water vapor rose, I gradually felt relieved.

High-temperature disinfection and alcohol wiping are the most common disinfection methods in modern surgery. If these methods could be promoted in the Ming Dynasty, they would definitely greatly improve the success rate of surgery.

The next day, we went to the Imperial Hospital again with sterilized surgical instruments, preparing for a minor operation.

The patient this time was a craftsman whose hand was accidentally cut by a sharp tool while working. The wound was very deep and had to be sutured.

The royal doctors had already prepared hemostats and sutures for him, but I specifically asked them to use the instruments we had just sterilized first.

"Miss Yang, do you think boiling this instrument can really reduce infection?" an old imperial physician asked with some doubt.

I nodded and patiently explained, "High-temperature disinfection kills bacteria on the instruments and reduces the risk of infection. Furthermore, we'll wipe the wound with alcohol to further reduce the possibility of infection."

Although the old imperial physician was skeptical, he still used sterilized instruments as I requested.

Everything went smoothly during the operation. The patient's wound was sutured very delicately. The imperial doctors used intestinal sutures to suture him, and the whole process was clean and neat.

"The operation went very smoothly," the young imperial physician exclaimed as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "The patient felt no discomfort, and the wound was sutured very well."

"Next, it depends on the post-operative recovery." I smiled slightly. "If there is no infection, it means our disinfection method is effective."

Zhu Yuan was listening on the side and couldn't help but interrupt: "Miss Yang, you are so confident, I think there will be no problem this time!"

A few days later, the patient's recovery made everyone feel relieved.

The wound showed no signs of infection and the patient's mental state was very good.

The imperial doctors exclaimed, "After this operation, the patient's recovery is much faster than before, and there are no signs of infection in the wound. It seems that Miss Yang's disinfection method is indeed effective!"

Zhu Yuan was beside him, gloating: "Hey, I told you so! Miss Yang's methods are never wrong!"

I smiled and shook my head, feeling relieved in my heart.

The success of disinfection is not only a technological advancement, but also means that the patient's life is better protected.

With the promotion of high-temperature disinfection and alcohol sterilization, the success rate of operations at the Imperial Medical Service has been further improved.

Doctors have said that with these methods, the infection rate during surgery has been greatly reduced and patients' postoperative recovery has been smoother.

Several imperial doctors even privately asked me how to further improve the disinfection process, making me a "celebrity" in the Imperial Medical Service for a while.

"Miss Yang, we have now mastered hemostasis, suturing, anesthesia and disinfection. What else do you want to improve next?" Zhu Yuan asked me enthusiastically one day.

I thought for a moment and smiled. "We've solved most of the problems associated with the surgery, but there's still one key aspect: postoperative care and nutritional support. Patients need adequate nutrition and good care after surgery to recover as quickly as possible. This is especially true for serious illnesses and injuries. Ordinary diets and herbal remedies are far from sufficient."

"Postoperative care?" Zhu Yuan scratched his head, looking puzzled. "Are you planning to prepare a feast for the patient?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "We don't need a big meal, but we do need to put more effort into nutrition. In modern medicine, nutritional support after surgery is very important, especially protein and vitamin supplements. If we can find some better dietary therapies, combined with modern nursing methods, patients will recover faster."

Zhu Yuan was stunned. "Nutrition... protein... what are these things? They sound complicated."

I smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't worry, you'll know when the time comes. What we need to do next is to ensure that the patient not only survives the operation, but also recovers faster and better."