[100 years ago: Oskar Kreis, a pioneer in spinal obstetric analgesia at the University Women's Clinic of Basel].
In 1900, Oskar Kreis (1872-1958), a gynecologist and obstetrician who received his training at the Basle University Women's Hospital, pioneered the use of spinal anaesthesia in six parturients for labour pain relief. Cocaine was used as a local anaesthetic, which had previously been shown to be effective for spinal anaesthesia by August Bier in 1898. This important advance in anaesthetic care was not widely acknowledged for a long period of time and it has only been during the past few decades that spinal anaesthesia was rediscovered as an important technique available for obstetric anaesthesia.
Schneider
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MC
Abteilung für Anästhesie, Universitätsfrauenklinik Basel, Schanzenstrasse 46, 4031 Basel, Schweiz. Markus.Schneider@unibas.ch
Holzgreve
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D016362:Analgesia, Obstetrical / Q000266:history*; D000775:Anesthesia, Spinal / Q000266:history*; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006785:Hospitals, University / Q000266:history; D006801:Humans; D013557:Switzerland