[Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society] ; Transactions of the American Otological Society : second annual meeting, Newport, R.I., July, 1869.
- American Ophthalmological Society
- Date:
- [1869]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: [Transactions of the American Ophthalmological Society] ; Transactions of the American Otological Society : second annual meeting, Newport, R.I., July, 1869. 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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![To introduce tlie speculum the blades should be pinehed to- gether by the fingers of one hand seizing the little knobs on the nasal extremities ; it is adjusted in plaee by the other hand, and the screw set to the position at which it is desired to keep the blades open. The one thing to be remembered in handling the instru- ment is to shut it by catching its inner extremities; by doing this it will not be liable to rotate in the fingers and make sudden pressure on the globe, as it might if caught by tlie arms at the outer portion. I am able with this instrument to accomplish as much as can be expected from a speculum. It is adapted to almost all vari- ations in the depth or prominence of the globe. A very few cases occur in which the globe has sunken to an extreme de- gree into the orbit and carried the eyelids with it. Inasmueh as a speculum always rests on the bony edge of the orbit and cannot enter far into its cavity, in cases of extreme marasmus and consequent retreat of the globe a pair of elevators maybe shaped so as to expose the eornea more perfectly than can a speculum. On the other hand, if the globe is very prominent a speculum rests directly on it, and not on the edge of the orbit. Perhaps it will then be better to dispense with instru- ments and trust to the fingers of an assistant, because the cor- nea will be very easily ex])osed. With these exceptions, I deeidedly prefer to employ a speculum rather than to rely upon an assistant. The fingers of the most skillful assistant or the proximity of his person crowd the operator more or less. An unskillful assistant is constant cause of anxiety, and has too frequently damaged or ruined the result of an operation. A New Foum of Cataract Knife. By Henry D. Noyes, M. D., of New York. At the last meeting of the Society I stated, in some remarks on the operation for cataract by Graefe’s method, that I had some objections to the very narrow knife employed by Prof. Graefe, and had consequently adopted another. I still adhere to the opinion then expressed, and regard the matter of suffi-](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b22449784_0066.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
