Brief note on the relief of pain in certain cases of cancer of the tongue / by W. Morrant Baker.

  • William Morrant Baker
Date:
[1893]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Brief note on the relief of pain in certain cases of cancer of the tongue / by W. Morrant Baker. 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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    In dealing with the subject of the relief of pain in cases of cancer of the tongue, I would also refer to those examples of the disease not so advanced as those just referred to, but in which there may be fairly a difference of opinion as to the advisability of removal, or attempted removal, by operation. In such cases, especially when there is much pain, the decision should be, I believe, in most instances, in favour of removal, unless the immediate risk to the patient’s life is more than the surgeon thinks justifiable. It is true that the bare removal of the diseased tissues, with little or no healthy margin, may not pro- long very much the patient’s life; but it will often give great and permanent relief, so far as pain is concerned, inasmuch as it entails the removal of a highly vascular and sensitive organ. Very possibly, even within a day or two of the operation, the patient will express himself as much relieved. Even when there is local recurrence, there is not necessarily recurrence of pain to any great degree. It is perhaps not an absurd way of putting the matter, that although there is recurrence of disease, there is no recurrence of the sensitive and vascular organ which was formerly its seat. The various local measures which may be adopted for the relief of pain, lotions, powders, &c., need not be here considered. With regard to the internal administration of opiates and the like, I would merely remark that when absolutely necessary, they must be given in sufficient doses. The amount must be regu- lated according to what is found requisite for the patient’s relief, and must not be restricted by the limit laid down in the tables as the maximtem dose.
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