Today In History... with The Retrospectors

Year of the Fistula

Listen on

Episode notes

King Louis XIV underwent risky surgery to remove a painful anal fistula on 18th November, 1686: an event that created a sensation at court, leading to 1686 being declared the ‘year of the fistula’. 

Louis’s choice to undergo such a dangeous procedure signalled an unspoken endorsement of surgery, bringing it a semblance of respectability - though the risk to Royal health had been highly mitigated in advance, as Royal Surgeon Félix de Tassy had already experimented on (and killed) dozens of peasants in preparation.

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly take a deep dive into the Royal bottom, discovering the salves made from luxurious ingredients which had previously failed to cure Louis; reveal how Felix developed his special “Royal Scalpel” just for the king’s surgery; and explore how the “Grand Operation,” as it became known, inspired a highly peculiar trend…

Further Reading:

• ‘Sciences at Versailles part 6: fit for a king, medicine and surgery’ (Google Arts & Culture): https://artsandculture.google.com/story/sciences-at-versailles-part-6-fit-for-a-king-medicine-and-surgery-palace-of-versailles/pwXBUrLu24XTIg?hl=en

• ‘It is good to be the king: The French surgical revolution’ (Hektoen International, 2019): https://hekint.org/2019/10/31/it-is-good-to-be-the-king-the-french-surgical-revolution/

• ‘The Many Diseases of Louis XIV, King of France’ (SLICE, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3V68ws3K0Qk

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices