Jonathan Hutchinson described a 42-year-old man with a previous history of alternating sciatica who had crushing of a pile under ether anaesthesia in 1889. When the patient awoke from the anaesthetic he had paralysis of his bladder and bowels. Jonathan Hutchinson could not establish a diagnosis. Evidence is presented to suggest that this was the first case of a prolapsed disc causing a cauda equina lesion as a result of anaesthesia and manipulation.