Gastrostomy for traumatic stricture of the esophagus : report of case / by George Ben Johnston.

  • Johnston, George Ben, 1853-1916
Date:
1899
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Gastrostomy for traumatic stricture of the esophagus : report of case / by George Ben Johnston. 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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    all his food was predigested, and he was encouraged to mas- ticate chewing gum and swallow the saliva. At the end of ten days dilitation was again attempted by my colleague, Dr. John P. Davidson. This has been carried on with considerable success until now a No. 12 bougie will be admitted through the stricture. He swallows with con- siderable ease, takes promiscuous food and enjoys a ravenous appetite. His progress after operation was entirely satisfactory, ex- cept for the unfortunate infection of the superficial portion of the larger wound which, on this account, had to heal by gran- ulation, and thus marred the cosmetic effect of the procedure. It will be observed that on the day of operation he weighed only eighty-two (82) pounds, and his appearance was most deplorable. To day, eighty-six days after, his weight is one hundred and twenty-five (125) pounds, or a gain of forty- three pounds, or at the rate of one-half pound per day. [Fig. 5.] The case is worthy of report because of the striking result obtained and because it may serve to prove that such stric- tures can be more efficiently treated by dilitation when the esophagus is at rest and not subjected to the trials and irrita- tion of difficult swallowing. Besides, the treatment goes on under improving health when successful tube feeding has been arranged for. 407 East Grace Street.