Why Was Chainsaw Invented? Power Tool Originally Designed To Aid Childbirth

Have you wondered why chainsaws were invented? The tool has been heavily featured in the horror/thriller "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." However, in contrast to the film, where it was used as a murder weapon, a chainsaw was created to help with childbirth.

What Were Chainsaws Invented For?

Chainsaws were invented not for cutting wood but to help in childbirth, according to How Stuff Works.

According to Dr. Anthony Tizzano, an obstetrician-gynecologist in Ohio, it might sound horrible, but it was the case. He has the most extensive collection of Ob/Gyn artifacts and medical books in the United States, housed in the Tizzano Museum of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Medical Antiques & Women's Health History.

French physician Jean-René Sigault proposed a potential remedy for delivering infants caught in the birth canal in the 1770s. Severin Pineau, a French surgeon from the late 1500s, documented a "diastasis of the pubis" (separation or dislocation of the pubic symphysis or joint) in a pregnant lady who had been hanged. Pineau's writings served as an inspiration for Sigault.

Sigault proposed surgically separating the pelvic joint to widen the pelvic aperture. If it were effective, the infant could enter the delivery canal.

Sigault and his associate Alphonse Le Roy tested the procedure on the first patient in October 1777. Madame Souchot, a 40-year-old woman with rickets who could not give birth vaginally, had a constricted pelvis. The medical establishment believed she had little hope of carrying living children without a caesarian section because she had already lost four infants. But a cesarean delivery would probably have resulted in her death.

With little to lose, Sigault successfully completed the first "symphysiotomy" by cutting through Souchot's pubic joint. After the mother and child's lives were saved, symphysiotomies for mothers going through obstructed labor quickly became commonplace.

Symphysiotomy is an outdated surgical operation where the pubic symphysis fibers are partially divided to allow for the separation of the joint and the ensuing increase of the pelvic size during birthing. It is carried out under local anesthesia without the need for an operating room or sophisticated surgical techniques, according to the National Library of Medicine.

In several clinical scenarios, it might be a lifesaving procedure for the mother, the infant, or both. The procedure was used when there was a failure to advance in labor when a cesarean section is hazardous or impractical when the woman has chosen not to have one, and during obstructed birth.

The operation has been criticized for having risks, particularly pelvic instability, and for being a "second best" choice, leading to its decrease or abolition from practice in several nations. Numerous sizable observational studies have revealed very low mortality rates, minimal complication rates, and good success rates.

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Chainsaw For Symphysiotomy

The symphysiotomy technique was improved upon in 1785 by Scottish physicians and obstetricians John Aitken and James Jeffray using a device that would eventually be known as the Aitkens flexible chainsaw.

The cutting tool was created expressly to make removing the woman's pelvic bone during birthing simpler and faster. In addition, the flexible chainsaw reduced damage to nearby tissue compared to the usual rigid saws and sharp knives.

The Aitkens flexible chainsaw was fashioned with a fine serrated link chain with teardrop-shaped handles on both ends. Tizzano describes it as a "unique and rare" item in his collection of vintage surgical instruments. Doctors might attach a blunt-pointed needle to the chain's end by removing one of the handles from the device.

To prepare for the symphysiotomy, the surgeons utilized the needle to direct the chain behind the pubic bone. The surgeon would then use back-and-forth motions of their hands to "saw" through the pelvic bone with greater speed and accuracy than they could have done with a sharp knife.

So, when someone asks, "were chainsaws invented to help with childbirth?" the answer is yes!