Treatise on the nature and cure of prolapsus uteri, and other affections of the pelvic viscera / by Robert Thompson.
- Thompson, Robert, 1797-1865
- Date:
- 1838
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Treatise on the nature and cure of prolapsus uteri, and other affections of the pelvic viscera / by Robert Thompson. 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.)
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![its upper end brought in contact with the uterus, and the lower end secured by means of tape, passing around the thighs and pelvis. To this class of instruments, (internal, secured by external ap- pendages,) belongs that of the globe* pessary, retained by a me- tallic rod passing from the pubes to the sacrum, being attached at either end to a belt which is secured around the pelvis, and con- nected with the globe pessary, by means of rings or loops attach- ed to the part of the fixture through which the rod is made to pass. This combination of parts was intended more especially for the Ireatment of procidentia uteri. Compressed sponge, gum elastic sacks inflated or stuffed with hair, and other substances; wood, glass, various metals, &c, have had, in a great variety of forms, their advocates, in whose hands various degrees of success have been realized. Now the best rule, in my opinion, that can be laid down as a practical guide in the use of such in- struments, is, to have them retained until a tolerable degree of irritation is produced in the textures which are in imme- diate contact with the instrument, at which time the pessary should be withdrawn—rest enjoined upon the patient, with the use of astringent washes, and such other means as are calculated to invigorate the constitution. If a re-application of the instru- ment be deemed advisable, it should be clearly ascertained wheth- er the parts may not admit of the use of a smaller pessary, lest, by the injudicious and long continued use of a large one, such a state of relaxation should be induced, as would require an instrument of inconvenient dimensions, t But as such practice would require the attention of the professional adviser very frequently, great ex- pense, and, as the venerable Dewees has it, a great deal of moral pain would be incurred in such practice ; or, on the other hand, the various evils, such as ulceration, with penetration of the blad- der and rectum, would occasionally be the result. [Hamilton.'] Now, that irritation and the consequent rejection of the instru- ment, together with rest in a horizontal position, which are fre- * Clark, page 69, 70. f A gentleman in tins city informs me that he has a maiden aunt, in New York, who was obliged to use the pessary until it became necessary to increase its diameter to five inches ! !](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b21159294_0010.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
