A plea for early operation in diseases of the antrum of Highmore / by W.H. Daly.

  • Daly, W. H. (William Hudson), 1842-1901.
Date:
[1894]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A plea for early operation in diseases of the antrum of Highmore / by W.H. Daly. 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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    [Bead before the American Laryngological Association at its A PLEA FOR EARLY OPERATION IN DISEASES OF THE ANTRUM OF HIGHMORE. By W. H. DALY, M.D., PITTSBURG, PA. Since the antrum is a closed cavity, excepting through a single opening by which it is closely related with the nasal, buccal, and other cavities, it of necessity follows that any disease of it may soon produce morbid conditions in one or more of the other accessory cavities. This may follow the drainage of pus into the nasal cavity, with subsequent inflammation of the mucous membrane. It may follow the obstruction of the separating bony wall by pressure, absorption, caries, or necrosis. There is also serious liability to damage to the eye, so that I make the plea that for all conditions in which severe inflammation, pus, tumors, or necrosis are present we should, as soon as the diagnosis is established, deal with the condition surgically, in order that the integrity, not only of the antrum itself, but the sur- rounding parts, is maintained to the greatest extent possible; and even if there is some doubt existing as to the disease of the antrum, or in cases that are otherwise somewhat masked, I would strongly advise an exploratory opening for diagnostic purposes, which may be made very small and yet efficient, and one which will close and heal up in a very short time if sufficient disease is not revealed to call for keeping it open. I have had many cases of chronic as well as malignant disease of the antrum to deal with in the past twenty years, and the sum of my experience is, that for want of early diagnosis and operative treatment some of the patients have perished that with early opera- tion could certainly have been permanently cured. I am not quite sure that the specialist in rhinology is not some- times to blame, as well as the general practitioner, for not taking