Expert: Ronald Levy, M.D. - 2/13/2008

Question
where and when was epidural created. And by whom?
I realy need to know the answer to this. please help!

Answer
The first recorded use of an epidural is by Dr. Morris Fishbein in the March 1943 issue of Hygeia when the wife of a Coast Guardsman was brought into the Marine Hospital for a delivery. Because the woman suffered from rheumatic heart disease, general anesthesia could not be used for an emergency Caesarian section, and it was believed that she would not survive the pains of labor. With the continuous use of a local anesthesia, the woman and her baby survived. The procedure was performed by Dr. Robert A. Hingson and Dr. Waldo B. Edwards (both surgeons at the United States Marine Hospital). 584 people received an epidural in that first year.

Ronald Levy, MD
Associate Professor of Anesthesiology
UTMB-Galveston