On surgical diseases of women / by I. Baker Brown.

  • Isaac Baker Brown
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On surgical diseases of women / by I. Baker Brown. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    367/468 (page 303)
    I shall only relate one case, out of many in my case-books, in which the third kind of treatment succeeded. Case.—Encysted tumour of the labia in an unmarried lady : Operation : Cure.—M. H., set. 26, consulted me, complaining of great pain in the lower part of her back, pain down the inner part of the thigh, and pain in the left labium, extending back to the rectum : she stated that nine or ten weeks ago she suffered from acute pain at that spot ; that ever since that period she has had considerable uneasiness there, and that now she feels a swelling. Upon examination, I found an encysted tumour of the left labium, between the vagina and the tuberosity of the ischium, running up towards its ramus, about the size of a small pullet's egg. Feb. 28th. I ordered a dose of castor- oil at bedtime, and, on March 1st, proceeded to operate. The patient being placed under the influence of chloroform, and put in the position for lithotomy, and all hair being shaved off the labium, an assistant passed his finger into the vagina, and pressing the tumour forwards, an incision of an inch and a half was carefully made through the skin and sub-cellular tissue, down to the cyst, which presented a bluish aspect. Having dissected away, as much as possible, the surrounding tissues, which were closely adherent, I punctured the cyst for the purpose of saving the fluid, and then seizing it with a pair of vulsellum forceps, I dissected it out, dividing two or three arteries, which bled freely at first, but were stopped by pressure, plugged the space, which was about an inch and a half deep, with lint soaked in oil, and applied two interrupted sutures to the upper part of the wound, leaving the rest open. Ordered her to take opium, and that she should suck ice freely. Cold-water dressing to be applied constantly. She was very sick for the first twenty-four hours, but this evidently arose from the chloroform. On the third day I applied the black wash to the wound, varying the dressing by sometimes applying dry lint, and at others touching the granulating surfaces with caustic, and then using dry lint. After six weeks of uninterrupted attention, the parts healed well and soundly, and she left town for the country to recruit her strength. C.—Irritation and Hypertrophy of the Clitoris. Enlargement of the clitoris, sometimes accompanied b}^ a degree of induration approaching that of cartilage, at others by a relaxed flabby state of its tissues, and always attended by abnormal irritability, is a condition of more frequent oc- currence, I believe, than the majority of medical men sus- pect, and is for the most part brought on by self-abuse. The deplorable effects of this baneful habit, both on the physical and mental health, have been less considered in the case of females than of males, and yet they are of equal gra- vity, and probably as prevalent. The radical cure of the habit is, however, fortunately in our hands. Long-continued irritation of the clitoris figures among the causes of sterility,