Danville, Boyle County: Ephraim McDowell

Kentuckians have long made crucial innovations in the field of medicine. Perhaps none of these were as important as an operation conducted by Dr. Ephraim McDowell of Danville.

On Christmas Day 1809, McDowell removed a twenty-two-pound ovarian cyst from Jane Todd Crawford of Green County. At the time, medical professionals believed that opening the abdominal cavity would cause a patient’s death. McDowell, however, knew that he had to save Crawford’s life.

With no anesthesia, Crawford remained awake and sang hymns during the ordeal. Her survival made medical history as the world’s first successful abdominal operation and the first ovariotomy. McDowell is now known as the “Father of Modern Surgery.” Although McDowell’s surgery on Jane Todd Crawford is his most well-known, he performed at least five ovariotomies. The four other surgeries were performed on enslaved women. Three of the four women survived their surgeries. Statues honoring him stand in the Kentucky Capitol Rotunda and the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol.