The eighties marked a stunning renaissance of discovery for the medical world. In 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox had been eradicated. In 1982, the first Jarvik-7 artificial heart was implanted into a human being. In 1983, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) was identified. It's no wonder that "medicine" was on the minds of toymakers as well.
Though originally produced by Milton Bradley in 1965, the game Operation saw a resurgence of popularity during the 1980's. This battery-operated game involved picking Doctor cards, which offered cash payments for the removal of each particular ailment, such as Adam's Apple, Broken Heart, Butterflies in the Stomach, and Broken Knee (to name a few). The surgical tool used was a special pair of tweezers connected to the board by a wire. Successful removal of the patient's ailment was rewarded according to the dollar amount shown on the corresponding card. But...if the tweezers accidentally touched the metal edge of the opening, a buzzer would sound and the patient's (known as "Cavity Sam") red nose would light up.
I always felt nervous playing this game, as if I would surely "kill" the patient in question. I don't think Sam ever survived a round of surgeries under my tweezers. I tried my hand at it multiple times but ultimately decided I was not cut out to be a surgeon. I wonder how many future physicians and specialists "practiced" first on this game and how it may have affected their desire to enter the world of general or surgical medicine. For me, it was a confirmation that word games were more my forte. But I know many kids of the eighties thrived on the challenge of making Sam well again. And so Operation is still on the market with future doctors endeavoring to give poor ol' Sam's family a clean bill of health.
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