#OnThisDay in 1794, Dr Jessee Bennet of Edom, Virginia, performs the 1st successful Cesarean section operation in the US - on his wife. 
Desperate to save her child, Elizabeth begged her husband to perform the Caesarian section. Dr. Bennett assembled a crude operating table from two boards supported by barrels, and gave his wife laudanum to make her sleepy.
Dr. Bennett cut his wife's abdomen with a single sweep of his knife and extracted his infant daughter, Maria.
He then removed both of Elizabeth's ovaries, saying he'd "not be subjected to such an ordeal again."
He then removed both of Elizabeth's ovaries, saying he'd "not be subjected to such an ordeal again."
Finally he sutured the surgical wound with stout linen thread, the kind used in frontier homes to sew heavy clothing.
Elizabeth Bennett lived for thirty-six more years, passing away on April 20, 1830. Maria Bennett lived until 1870, married twice, and bore six children.
Dr. Bennett refused to publicize the details of the surgery during his life. He said other doctors would never believe that a woman could survive this hazardous operation, done in the backwoods of Virginia, and he was "damned if he'd give them a chance to call him a liar."
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
