According to many authors, 19th century translators were responsible for the entire translation project, from choosing the author and source text to finding a publisher. In some cases, authors accused translators of highjacking their work, as when Darwin refused the translation of his theory of evolution by Clémence Royer. An hypothesis could be that, in a practical field such as surgery, where texts circulate techniques rather than revolutionary theories, the translated text consists essentially in the transfer of factual data from the source to the target text. A detailed analysis of Lister’s writings about the antiseptic principle, translated by Brussel-born Gustave Borginon (1882), is more nuanced and reveals a “functional” fidelity that preserves the entire methodology of the antiseptic method. However, references to the intellectual filiation between the antiseptic principle and germ theory are strongly attenuated. Also, Lister’s convictions are noticeably downplayed in the translated text. Nevertheless, a number of clues suggest that Lister knew about these modifications, which would foster the acceptance by reluctant French surgeons of an innovative and efficient method.