The early days of hemostasis in neurosurgery

Two key discoveries in the 19th century--infection control and the development of general anesthesia--provided an impetus for the rapid advancement of surgery, especially within the field of neurosurgery. Yet the field of neurosurgery would not have existed in the modern sense without the development and advancement of techniques in hemostasis. Improvement in intraoperative hemostasis came more gradually but was no less important to enhancing neurosurgical outcomes. The history of hemostasis in neurosurgery is often overlooked. Herein, the authors briefly review the historical progression of hemostatic techniques since the beginning of the early modern era of neurosurgery.