Fidel Pagés. Centenário da descoberta da anestesia epidural.

Fidel Pagés. Centenary of the discovery of epidural anesthesia

Abstract

This article highlights Dr. Fidel Pagés' important legacy, in the year that celebrates the centenary of his discovery, epidural anesthesia. Born in 1886 in Huesca, this medical commander was the pioneer of epidural anesthesia, which he called metameric anesthesia in his article published in March 1921 in the “Revista Española de Cirugía”, and later reproduced in June of the same year in the “Revista de Sanidad Militar”. His premature death in a road accident in 1923, probably made his discovery go unnoticed. In 1931, Dogliotti published his experiences on epidural anesthesia, a work that was quickly recognized and for which he was inadequately attributed the paternity of the epidural technique. It was Alberto Gutiérrez, Director of the Surgery Service of Women of the “Hospital Español” in Buenos Aires (Argentina), who had used epidural anesthesia since 1929, who warned of this error, stating that the discoverer of epidural anesthesia was Dr. Pagés. In this article we carry out an analysis of his work on “metameric anesthesia”, as well as some aspects of the life of the pioneer of epidural anesthesia.