The Knick: A history of surgery and a look at the facts behind the series

20 August 2015

HBO's new medical drama, The Knick is out on Blu-ray and DVD now, and takes us inside the operating room during a thrilling, progressive, yet gruesome time in medical history. Taking an enormous amount of experimentation, the loss of many lives and decades of blood, sweat and tears to develop modern day surgery techniques, we're taking a look at the real facts of the era that helped depict the show.

The Knick season one - out now

In the late 1880s, a pharmaceutical company called Parke-Davis began manufacturing cocaine for medical use. This is why in episode one Dr J.M. Christiansen refers to his cocaine vile as, 'Uncle Parker'.
The Placenta Previa surgery witnessed at the start of the series was a procedure known to fail 100% of the time.
During the early 20th century, carbolic acid was used as means of sterilization. Surgeons even dipped their beards in it, as seen in episode one.
The show demonstrates how many of America's barbers also posed as surgeons, since they were experienced with and in possession of the correct utensils.
In episode four we see a patient treated with mercury-infused steam. This was a common treatment for headaches and migraines.
Episode four also highlighted a gruesome side effect of syphilis where a patient's nose caves in. Skin flap restoration was a procedure created to cover up the symptom. It involved a flap of arm skin being used to mould a new nose.
An open-chest cardiac massage is an emergency procedure used on a patient whose heart stops during surgery. Thackery is seen to try it in episode four.
Charles McBurney was an American surgeon known for his work on appendicitis. McBurney's Point is now the medical name for the area where the appendix is located. In the show it is referred to as 'Thackery Point'.
Episode seven emphasises the importance of speed during surgeries. Prior to anaesthetics, timing was pivotal for amputations and reducing the risk of infections.
An endoscope is a device used by doctors to peer inside the body of a patient. In episode eight Dr. Linberg's 'illuminating intrascope' is based on the device.
As seen in the show, the early 1900s encompassed a bizarre dietary tactic where women would swallow sanitized tapeworms to lose weight.
In episode ten we are introduced to Trepanning, a process where surgeons would bore a hole into the skull to reduce pressure on the brain.
Karl Landsteiner was an Austrian biologist and physician, who discovered the main blood groups in 1900. Dr. Zinberg represents Landsteiner through his interest in the properties of blood.
Heroin and morphine were seen as substances that aided the cure of addiction and other diseases, which is why Thackery turns to an opium den for help in the ultimate episode of the season.