Lithotrity and lithotomy, with the use of ether in those operations / By J. Mason Warren, M.D.

  • Jonathan Mason Warren
Date:
[1849]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Lithotrity and lithotomy, with the use of ether in those operations / By J. Mason Warren, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    LI T110 Tit IT Y AND LITHOTOMY, WITH THE USE OF ETHER IN THOSE OPERATIONS. BY J. MASON WARREN, M.D. When ether was first introduced into use in surgical operations, it was thought by many that this substance would be found wholly inapplicable to the destruction of the stone in the bladder by crush¬ ing instruments. The objections raised were principally these: 1st. That, in order to preserve the integrity of the mucous membrane of the bladder, it was necessary that the patient should be possessed of his full consciousness, so as to give the surgeon warning when the coats of the organ were included in the instrument. 2d. That the operation might be pursued to a dangerous extent, unless informa¬ tion wTas given by the patient’s feelings and powers of endurance, when it was proper to desist. Such fears, as well as others which have been urged under simi¬ lar circumstances, have, as will be shown by the following cases, proved fallacious. Not having observed any account of the appli¬ cation of ether to the performance of lithotrity, among the almost innumerable uses to which it has been applied, I have been led to bring together these instances and to present them to the public. From these records it would appear, that the facility thus afforded is as great as in any class of surgical operations. In one or two of the cases, from the great irritability of the blad¬ der and urethra, as well as from the extreme hardness of the stone, (which required a number of operations,) it would have been neces¬ sary to relinquish the idea of employing lithotrity without the assist¬ ance of ether. In those where the ether was not made use of, it will be found that other points of interest rendered their introduc¬ tion advisable. The case of lithotomy is instructive, both on ac¬ count of the manner of formation of the stone, and the great facility afforded by the ether in the exploration and operation. But few cases are required to establish the fact, that by the use of ether lithotrity will be much simplified, and a resort to it fre¬ quently made in instances till now rejected. Case I.—J. W-, forty years of age, had for a year or two been troubled with difficulty in passing water, attended with ex-