“Anestesia Metamérica”. That’s what Fidel Pagés called his groundbreaking discovery. Right here on this spot a plaque commemorates Dr. Fidel Pagés. He was the discoverer of epidural anesthesia in 1921.
This modest plaque honors an extraordinary man. Fidel Pagés Miravé was born in Huesca in 1886. He pursued medicine at the University of Zaragoza. Pagés graduated with honors in 1908.
He joined the army medical corps that same year. Pagés served in Melilla. He was promoted to first medical officer in 1911. He also served in Tarragona and Toledo. He earned his doctorate in Madrid.
Pagés married in 1913. He worked at the War Ministry in Madrid. Later, he secured a position at Madrid’s Hospital Provincial. During World War I in 1917, he inspected prisoner of war camps in Austria and Hungary. He also served in a Vienna military hospital.
In 1919, Pagés founded the Revista Española de Cirugía. There he published his work on anesthesia. In 1920, he was assigned to Madrid’s Hospital Militar de Urgencia. He was briefly sent to Melilla after the Disaster at Annual.
Amidst immense suffering, Pagés sought ways to alleviate pain. He focused on anesthesia for his patients. Many endured significant pain. In 1921, Pagés published “Anestesia Metamérica”. This article detailed his epidural anesthesia technique.
Pagés described how he conceived the idea. He was performing spinal anesthesias. He aimed to block nerve roots. He wanted to do it outside the meningeal space. He planned to do it before the roots passed through the intervertebral foramina.
He stopped the cannula within the spinal canal. He did this before it pierced the dura mater. Pagés explored sensitivity. He observed hypoesthesia in the infraumbilical region of the abdomen after five minutes.
The hypoesthesia gradually intensified. After twenty minutes, he deemed it safe to operate. The patient experienced no discomfort. This success encouraged him to study the method. He named it metameric anesthesia. This referred to its ability to desensitize a body segment.
His technique was later popularized by Dr. Achille Mario Dogliotti. The first use of epidural anesthesia during childbirth occurred in 1942. Robert Andrew Hingson and Waldo B. Edwards developed it. In 1947, Manuel Martínez Curbelo described lumbar epidural catheter placement.
Epidural anesthesia is commonly used for pain relief during childbirth. It is also used in surgeries involving the leg, pelvis, or genitals. Fidel Pagés was promoted to Medical Commandant in 1922. Tragically, he died in a car accident in 1923. He was returning to Madrid from vacation.
Despite his untimely death, Pagés’s legacy endures. His pioneering work in epidural anesthesia transformed medicine. He improved countless lives. Remember Dr. Fidel Pagés. His discovery continues to provide comfort and relief worldwide. This Fidel Pagés plaque stands as a reminder of his contribution.