Pavilhão Cirúrgico Novo Sanatório
THE ABANDONED SANATORIUM IN PORTUGAL
This is ‘Pavilhão Cirúrgico Novo Sanatório’. It is the surgery building of a sanatorium in Portugal. It was built in 1902 and abandoned almost 100 years later.
This sanatorium had all the latest technology for the treatment of tuberculosis. It was part of the biggest health center in Portugal. The town had 20 sanatoriums in its best days. This Surgical Pavilion was probably the last of all sanatoriums that were built there. It was called ‘Novo Sanatório’, or New Sanatorium.
The concept behind its construction was to isolate the surgical area from the other buildings where patients recuperated. This separation shielded patients from the distressing elements of the complex tuberculosis treatment process. Tuberculosis surgery, a radical approach for those unresponsive to standard treatments, was fraught with complications and carried a significant risk of mortality, both during and post-operation.
Not only surgery, but also x-rays and micro-radiographs, were done here. It also had one of the first automated laundries that allowed better disinfection of bedding.
Improvements in sanitation, vaccination, and antibiotics began significantly reducing rates of tuberculosis in the 1970s. As a result, sanatoria closed and became abandoned. These photos of the ‘Pavilhão Cirúrgico Novo Sanatório’ were taken in 2018. Also check the other sanatoriums in Portugal here, here and here.
