This History of anesthesia, critical care and algology in Liege, from early times to nowadays

Abstract

The medical specialty of anesthesia and intensive care medicine is relatively young, insofar as it emerged during the 1950’s and was officially recognized during the 1960’s. Despite this young age, the last 50 years have seen considerable progress in available anesthetic drugs, monitoring and security of anesthetized patients, life support, intensive, emergency and perioperative care, and the management of increasingly complex surgeries. Pioneers and passionate anesthesiologists thereafter have made this progress possible. In this paper, we retrace that story at the Liege University Hospital, from the early beginning to the present time, highlighting the contributions of figures of the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine.