A plain and popular explanation of the nature, varieties, treatment and cure of hernia, or rupture : with an appendix on mechanical surgery, and the application of the various instruments for prolapsus, varicocele, piles, curved spine, bow-legs, club-feet, and other deformities / by S.N. Marsh.
- Marsh, S. N. (Seymour N.)
- Date:
- [1860?]
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: A plain and popular explanation of the nature, varieties, treatment and cure of hernia, or rupture : with an appendix on mechanical surgery, and the application of the various instruments for prolapsus, varicocele, piles, curved spine, bow-legs, club-feet, and other deformities / by S.N. Marsh. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)
13/70
![able Hernia, and the surgical adaptation of a suitable Truss is at once the only safe or reliable treatment, Delay in the application of the instrument for days, weeks, and months, because not at first causing much disability, is a common, but dangerous error, often aggravating the disease, and even rendering its radical cure difficult, if not impossible. But in all such cases, if a well-adapted Truss is promptly ap- plied, and faithfully worn a sufficient length of time, Reducible Her- nia is susceptible of radical cure. If, however, the Truss is not surgically adjusted, or is worn irregularly, or dispensed with too soon, the protrusion will become greater, and the return of the tumor into the abdominal cavity may become difficult or imprac- ticable. It is then called Irreducible Hernia, and is a much more serious accident. The liability to inflammation occurring in the hernial tumor when irreducible, is in many cases a source of much danger, as it may become strangulated, and require a formidable and hazardous operation to preserve life. Hence the necessity of early and con- tinuous employment of a well-adapted Bag Truss is imperative; the ordinary Truss not being applicable to the irreducible cases of Hernia. The Hernial Tumor or Sac may contain intestine, a portion of which protrudes near the groin, on one or both sides, and when re- duced, is accompanied by a gurgling sound. Or it may only con- tain a portion of omentum, which is the apron or caul which loosely hangs over the bowels, and in this case has a doughy, irregular feel, and is not so easily returned. In still other cases, portions of both intestine and omentum descend together into the sac, and the utmost care is necessary to see that both are returned into the abdomen before the Truss is applied. Or it may be found in the scrotum of males, having escaped notice while passing down, and when at the groin, and is then known as Scrotal Hernia. [Pl. II.] And it is called Umbilical Hernia when it occurs at the navel. Thus far, only one form, and that the most frequent variety of Hernia, has been dwelt upon, viz., the Inguinal; and hence the pro- truding tumor or sac is perceived in the groin.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21139179_0013.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
