J Oral Maxillofac Surg 69:1892-1897, 2011 Keeping Ether “En-Vogue”: The Role of Nathan Cooley Keep in the History of Ether Anesthesia Walter C. Guralnick, DMD,* and Leonard B. Kaban, DMD, MD† In this report, we explore the little known role of Dr Nathan Cooley Keep in the dissemination of ether anesthesia in Boston. Keep was a prominent Boston dentist who, for a short time, taught and employed both William Morton and Horace Wells. He used ether anesthesia for a variety of dental and other surgical procedures requiring pain control. Keep administered ether to anesthetize Henry Wadsworth Longfel- low’s wife during the delivery of their daughter. This was the first use of ether for obstetric anesthesia. Dr Keep was also the first Dean of the Harvard Dental School and convinced the Massachusetts General Hospital to appoint a dentist to the staff of the hospital for the first time. © 2011 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons J Oral Maxillofac Surg 69:1892-1897, 2011 This report was presented by Dr Leonard Kaban, in substitution for Dr Walter C. Guralnick, at the 150th anniversary celebration of the demonstration of ether at the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) on Oc- tober 16, 1846. The amphitheater in which the oper- ation was performed became known as the Ether Dome. It is now a restored, national historic site open to the public. A newly commissioned painting of the operation hangs in the Ether Dome and the seats in the amphitheater are labeled with the names of those present for this historic demonstration. The operation was performed by John Collins Warren (Surgeon-in- Chief at MGH). William Morton administered the an- esthesia, with an “ether” flask, before a large audience of physicians and students. For the past 17 years, the MGH Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery has held its Grand Rounds in the Ether Dome on Wednesday evenings. The 150th anniversary celebration was held on Oc- tober 16, 1996, in Boston’s historic Faneuil Hall, birth- place of the American Revolution. Participants came from around the world to present papers related to this demonstration, thought to be the most significant medical discovery of all-time for the relief of pain and suffering. It is remarkable that within 1 year after this initial demonstration, spread by ship’s doctors in their travels, the use of ether anesthesia became dissemi- nated all over the world. As oral and maxillofacial surgeons and dentists, it was a privilege for us to participate in the celebration and to describe the role of Nathan Cooley Keep in this fascinating story. Nathan Cooley Keep For anyone connected with dentistry, celebrating the demonstration of ether in 1846 by Boston dentist William Morton is a memorable event. It is especially meaningful for the MGH Oral and Maxillofacial Sur- gery family because of our heritage at the hospital, our daily viewing of the Ether Dome, and our frequent use of its historical amphitheater. Particularly interest- ing in the ether story is the role of Nathan Cooley Keep, a dentist, an anesthesiologist, and the first Dean of the Harvard Dental School. Furthermore, it is en- lightening to trace the estimable record of dentists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons in the administra- tion of ambulatory anesthesia, a continuum of Mor- ton’s watershed demonstration that we celebrate to- day. Received from Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Mas- sachusetts General Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA. *Professor Emeritus. †Walter C. Guralnick Professor and Chairman. This report was presented, in part, at Boston’s Historic Faneuil Hall, October 16, 1996, on the occasion of the 150th Anniversary Celebration of Morton’s Demonstration of Ether at the Massachu- setts General Hospital. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Kaban: De- partment of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Warren Building 1201, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114; e-mail: LKaban@Partners.org © 2011 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons 0278-2391/11/6907-0015$36.00/0 doi:10.1016/j.joms.2011.02.121 1892