I read on a UK science museum site that " It was not until the development of safe blood transfusion and antibiotics such as penicillin in the early 1940s that surgery became relatively safe

The overarching story, of course, follows Dr. Thackery who balances a chemical dependency (cocaine…and then some) with his drive to conquer death and his invention of new techniques to perform surgeries (like a C-section) that have historically resulted in death due to well-documented but seemingly uncombatable factors

Modern surgery was in its infancy.

-)Most of all, I enjoyed the incredible use of surgical equipment (original?reproductions?) and the realistic "surgeries"