The question of anaesthesia in goitre operations / by William Seaman Bainbridge.

  • Bainbridge, William Seaman, 1870-1947.
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The question of anaesthesia in goitre operations / by William Seaman Bainbridge. 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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    THE QUESTIC OPERATIONS.* BY WILLIAM SEAMAN BAINBRIDGE, M.D., OF NEW YORK. Introductory Remarks.—The wonderful achievements which have marked the progress of surgery during the past few years finds an especially brilliant illustration in the do- main of the operative treatment of goitre, from the radical or curative to the symptomatic or palliative procedures. On the basis of new discoveries along biological lines, or because of special refinements of technic, the surgery of the thy- roid gland has reached a certain stage of perfection, with constantly improving results. The question of anaesthesia in goitre operations, on the other hand, is still an unsettled problem, and is, therefore, in the foreground of surgical interest. The particular method of inducing insensibility to pain in these operations which is given the preference varies according to the per- sonal experience or otherwise acquired opinion of the sur- geon. The different procedures now in use have been employed with more or less success, but it would seem rea- sonable to assume that the most satisfactory results may be obtained by the method of anaesthesia or analgesia which is most nearly in keeping with the principles involved in the surgical treatment of goitre. It is not my purpose in this contribution to do more than touch upon the technical side of thyroid surgery. I shall confine my brief consideration of the subject rather to such aspects as are directly concerned with the selection of the anaesthetic or the method of administration. Surgical Considerations Which Influence the Selection of the Anaesthetic Agent or Method of Ad- ministration.—Certain surgical problems, always to be reckoned with, are particularly important in the surgery of the thyroid gland, not only because of the location of the operative field, but because of the psychical aspects which ♦Read before the American Association of Anaesthetists, June, 1913. ]