The Surgeon's Acid: How Medicine Destroyed a Child's Face

The Surgeon's Acid: How Medicine Destroyed a Child's Face A four-year-old’s face, tongue and teeth were destroyed by daily doses of calomel and two applications of nitric acid; she lived seventy-four years with chronic pain and a tin to eat through. How did a trusted surgeon’s treatment become lifelong ruin, and why did the court’s one-thousand-pound judgment change nothing? In this episode, we tell the documented life of Elizabeth Storie from Glasgow, the medical treatments she received as a child, the legal case her family won, and the decades of consequences that followed - why did the surgeon refuse to pay the awarded compensation? Person: Elizabeth Storie Date of birth: July 1818 Location: Glasgow Treatment: Calomel daily for three weeks; two applications of aquafortis (nitric acid) by syringe Judgment: £1,000 awarded to the family - Age when injured: 4 years old - Number of surgeries endured: more than 20 - Duration she used a feeding tin: 74 years - Year she recorded living independently as a dressmaker in census: 1871 - Year her father buried and later moved: mother buried in 1849 To listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com. © 2026 OBOMEDIA. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and related materials) are the exclusive property of OBOMEDIA and are protected by applicable copyright laws. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or commercial use, in whole or in part, without prior written permission from OBOMEDIA is prohibited. For permissions, licensing, and business inquiries: [email protected].