Craniectomy.

[United Kingdom], [1929]

1 film reel (15 min.) : silent, black and white, 16 mm

Copyright previously held by British Medical Association and assigned to Wellcome in 2005.

Public Domain Mark.

Produced by HY. Sessions Souttar.

Title taken from Catalogue of films and videos in the British Medical Association Library, 1993.

"This film is from the B.M.A. Film Library"--From opening credits.

Due to the poor condition of this film, the video is very jumpy, particularly in the first 30 seconds.

Original cinefilm version has slightly longer duration than digitised version.

Segment 1. A patient is operated on, and intertitles describe the various stages of using the craniotome to remove a flap of skull. A long control lever is fitted to the skull, and the centre pin on which the craniotome turns is passed into the centre hole drilled in the skull. The centre pin is expanded and a cutting lever attached. A carriage with the cutting tool mounted on it is slid onto the cutting lever. The skull is then cut with long, sweeping strokes. As soon as the dura is felt, cutting at that point is stopped, and the intertitles note that the tool is designed in such a way that the dura is never injured. Two powerful levers are then inserted into the slot formed in the skull to crack whatever part of the skull remains uncut. Time start: 00:00:00:00 Time end: 00:05:40:23 Length: 00:05:40:23

Segment 2. The bone is raised, and if it is intended to be removed, rotated outwards. If it is going to be replaced, the bevelled edge created by the cutting process ensures it will fit back in. The next stage of the film demonstrates the tools, and a surgeon is seen screwing the various parts of the craniotome together. The action of the tool is then shown on a piece of bone already removed. A series of pieces of bones removed by surgery with the craniotome are displayed. Time start: 00:05:40:23 Time end: 00:10:41:02 Length: 00:05:00:04