The Maystadt anbaric scalpel was used by the General Oblation Board to seperate a human and their dæmon. It is mentioned when Lyra and Pantalaimon are eavesdropping on the Oblation Board at their base: A doctor says that the Silver Guillotine is an improvement on the anbaric scalpel. At Mrs. Coulter's cocktail party, Lyra overhears a man saying that the children don't suffer, yet after seeing Tony Makarios that is known to Lyra to be untrue. Also, the anbaric scalpel method was used by using anesthetics on the child, perhaps to reduce shock or to just make the job easier, because anesthetics are not used with the silver gulliotine.