An inquiry into the present methods of performing the operation of lithotomy.

  • Shaw, John, 1792-1827.
Date:
1821
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An inquiry into the present methods of performing the operation of lithotomy. 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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    1 50 , Inquiry into the present Methods with great rapidity; there was very little injury done to the sides of the wound in the extraction of the stone, as it was so sandy a calculus that it was brought away in very small pieces. The only tedious part of the operation was syringing the bladder ; and he was put to bed less exliausted by the opera- tion than any patient we ever remember to have seen. There was very little blood lost during the operation. He begged to be allowed to lie upon his side; this was granted for a short time, as he expressed himself much relieved of pain by lying in that position. The operation was performed at half past three ; on coming to him about nine in the evening, we found him ex- ceedingly well and cheerful, suffering very little pain. On look- ing at the wound, we were rather surprised to see no marks of blood or urine on the clothes; and we were, moreover, informed by the nurse and pupil in attendance, that no urine had passed; the patient had been lying on his back for the last three hours, having only lain a very short time on his side. Suspecting that some clot of blood might be the cause of stopping the wound, we passed the finger in, and were much astonished to find that it required considerable boring to introduce the finger into a wound, which six hours before admitted a large pair of forceps, 'nclosing a portion of stone to pass. The fore finger was passed as far as the knuckle : a small quantity of blood and urine fol- lowed. It was not deemed necessary to do more, as he was not suffering, nor had he any desire to make water; and we rea- sonably enough imagined that, in consequence of the irritation of the kidney, produced by the operation, that little urine had been secreted. He was then given in charge to the nurse, with an urgent request that he should lie on his back. In the morning visit, at eight, we were told by the nurse that, towards midnight, our patient had suffered excessive pain in the bladder, of which he was relieved about six in the morn- ing, by passing about a pint of bloody water by the penis. Through this and the two suceeding days he was remarkably w ell, the urine passing freely by the perineum, and he com- plaining only of a slight pain, quite on the pubes, for he put his hand on the hair of the pubes, when pointing to the part pained. This was imagined to be in consequence of having pulled the penis T'ather rudely on the staff during the operation, to prevent the csc:i])e of the urine. This pain was quite relieved by the appli- cation of leeches. He continued very wqll on the fourth day, hut on the fifth, lie was attacked by purging, with a very indis- tinct sort of pain in the lower part of the belly. The purging continued ; lie lost his spirits, and though he expressed himself as suffering no particular pain, still he said, he was sure that he