Dr. Ephraim McDowell, 'father of ovariotomy' : his life and his work / by August Schachner.
- August Schachner
- Date:
- [1913]
Licence: In copyright
Credit: Dr. Ephraim McDowell, 'father of ovariotomy' : his life and his work / by August Schachner. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.
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![which surrounded the Fallopian tube. Between every two stitches [156] we put a strip of adhesive plaster, which, by keeping the parts in contact, hastened the healing of the incision. We then applied the usual dressings, put her to bed, and prescribed a strict observance of the antiphlogistic regimen. In five days I visited her, and much to my astonishment found her engaged in making up her bed. I gave her particular caution for the future, and in twenty-five days she returned home as she came, in good health, which she con- tinues to enjoy. This report was met with indifference and incredulity on the one hand and ridicule on the other. The original paper sent to Bell, which fell into the hands of Lizars, was published seven years after McDowell’s report in connection with one of Lizars’ failures, and it was this that awakened Europe and, through reaction, aroused America more than McDowell’s own publication. The second operation in 1813, four years after the first, was upon a negress. In this the ovary was exposed and incised, allowing a gelatinous substance and blood to the amount of about one liter to escape, but the ovary was not removed owing to the firmness of its adhesion to the vesica urinaria and fundus uteri. She recovered from the operation, had no more pain and was able to pursue her occupation. The third operation, and the last to be included in his first report, was performed May, 1816, or three years after the second. Like the second, it Avas upon a negress and in this case he removed a scirrhous ovarium weighing six pounds. His second communication, also published in the Eclectic Repertory, embraced descriptions of his fourth and fifth patients, avIio, like the others, except the first, Avere negresses. The fourth was operated upon April, 1817. It Avas a scirrhous ovarium AAreighing five pounds. Although she made a recovery from the operation and it Avas the smallest of all, it gave him the most trouble at the time and Avas not as satisfactory in the end results as the others. The fifth, who Avas operated upon May 11, 1819, had been tapped four times before the operation. Many adhesions were encountered. Sixteen liters of gelatinous fluid AArere discharged from the tumor and abdomen. She died of peritonitis on the third day. The tumor Avas a dermoid cyst.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22440951_0013.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
