One of these men was Thomas Keith, a pioneer in ovariotomy, which was a dangerous procedure that involved the excision of ovarian tumors within the abdominal cavity. For most of the nineteenth century, ovariotomy remained extremely controversial. Those who dared to undertake such an invasive procedure were nicknamed “belly-rippers” on account of the long incision they made across the abdomen of their patients, which frequently became a source of sepsis.
