Samuel Pepys: A Patient Perspective of Lithotomy in 17th Century England

Abstract

Bladder stones have plagued mankind since ancient times with the oldest stone found in an Egyptian mummy dating from circa 4800 B.C. Lithotomy has also been practiced since antiquity with accounts describing the operation as risky and difficult. There are no contemporary details of the patient description of this ordeal. Samuel Pepys was a notable diarist of the 17th century who described his personal experience of having a bladder stone and subsequent undergoing lithotomy. A comprehensive review of the medical literature, the diaries of Pepys, biographies and historical texts was performed to compile this historical review. The diaries of Samuel Pepys chronicle life in the 17th century in London. The diaries provide great insight into the contemporary political climate and London life. Stones afflicted Pepys from an early age and continued to trouble him, such that he finally decided to undergo lithotomy in 1658 for bladder stone. He provided a lucid account of his experiences in his diary. Pepys survived through the skill of an early urologist or lithotomist, the prayers of his family and probably his own strong constitution. He then went on to write his diary during the next decade, giving perhaps unwittingly an insight into his world and times to later generations as well as the personal story of his lithotomy.