The history of documented surgical procedures begins in Neolithic times with the use of flint scrapers and, currently, progressed to surgical use of robots to help eliminate contamination. But, surgical progress took on new dimensions mainly in the 1800s, when the use of general anesthesia and sterile surgery techniques enabled more surgical successes. Without those advancements, heart transplants and cosmetic surgery might remain dreams rather than realities. [click to continue…]