I think I'm asking Mission about surgery...

[Elena]

Do you have any links to posts here or outside the board, how a bullet was taken out in those times (by a doctor- because a pirate would try with a knife. It seems as far as I remember that doctors had special tools).

Thank you very much!

[Mission]

It's pretty simple, actually. First you would probe for the bullet using a metal probe. When found, you could use forceps or fingers to remove the bullet. They had all sorts of different shaped forceps for getting at things. You might also use a sort of spoon-shaped thing to try and scoop it out. These procedures would often involve opening the wound up more so you could get at it. If the bullet was really stuck or deep, they had a special device called a bullet extractor that actually screwed into the soft lead of the bullet. For a complete list and sketches of tools recommended by French surgeon Jacques Guillemeau in a companion book to the famed French surgeon Amboise Paré, see the Tools and Procedures part of my web page.

[Elena]

Thank you very much - I forwarded your answer to the pirate doctor (who is a Danish girl IRL)