Clinical notes upon two years' surgical work in the Liverpool Royal Infirmary / by W. Mitchell Banks.
- William Mitchell Banks
- Date:
- 1884
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Clinical notes upon two years' surgical work in the Liverpool Royal Infirmary / by W. Mitchell Banks. 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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![AMPUTATIONS AND EXCISIONS. ♦ Four Fatal Oases of Amputation—From the accompanying table it will be seen that, out of eighteen major amputations, four cases proved fatal. Before taking note of any features of interest in the successful cases, it is well to observe what were the causes of the failures. Fatal AmptUation of the Thigh for Kncc-Joint Disease.—rOnly one of the four fatal amputations was done for disease. The lad was at once the victim of suppurative destruction of the knee- joint and of antero-posterior spinal curvature. When he was ad- mitted, his left knee-joint was a bag of pus, his backbone was literally doubled up on itself, and in his left lumbar region was a huge chronic abscess connected with the spinal mischief. The knee-joint and the spinal abscess were repeatedly aspirated, only to fiU again. Then they were laid open antiseptically. After eight months of treatment the spinal abscess had diminished to a mere sinus in the loin, from which exuded a little thin discharge; but the knee-joint had gone all to wreck, and gave the lad the most excruciating pain. At the patient's urgent request, the limb was removed just above the knee, to relieve him from his agony, but with small hope of his pulling through. Even if he had, the spinal mischief would still have been before us. He struggled on after the amputation for about ten days, and then died from sheer exhaustion. Three Fatal Frimary Amjmtalions.—The other three cases were primary amputations for severe injuries. In one instance the patient died in about 60 hours after amputation at the shoulder- joint, from internal injuries produced by crushing of the left chest. In anotlier, tlie man was run over on tlie railway about twelve rniles fi-oin J.iverjjoo], and lost a great deal of blood before any assistance could he jtrocured. Then he was jolted in trains and cat)3 to tlie Infirmary, and arrived, in about three hours after](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22294806_0007.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
