On the causes and treatment of closure and immobility of the jaws / by Christopher Heath.

  • Heath, Christopher, 1835-1905.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the causes and treatment of closure and immobility of the jaws / by Christopher Heath. 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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    under that gentleman’s care, at the St. James’s Infirmary, and which he reported in the Medical Gazette (Jidy 4th, 1845). The patient was 22 at the time of’ his death, and the closure of the jaws dated from Infancy; and he was fed through an aperture made by the removal of the incisors on the left side. At the age of 14 an operation for his benefit had l)ccn undertaken by an eminent surgeon, and incisions in the mouth had been made with this object, but without any good result. On post mortetn examination, the jaws wore perfectly united on the left side, and only the smallest degree of motion was possible on the right; the soft parts Avere removed, and the base of the skull Avas macerated, Avhen anchylosis Avas discoA’ered to exist betAveen the loAVcr and upper jaAV on the left side, the ramus of the inferior maxilla imme- diately internal to the mental foramen extending upAA^ards by a broad thin plate, and uniting Avith a coiTcsponding plate of the superior maxilla—a cartilaginous material forming the bond of union. The articulation of the jaAvs Avas normal. Before giving the details of the more recent cases, hoAA'ever, I must refer to an essay by Dr. Frederic Esmarch, Professor of Surgery in the UnlA^ersity of Kiel, on The Treatment of Closure of the Jaws from Cicatrices,’^ in Avhich he investigates the pathology of the affection, and describes an operation for its relief, by the formation of an artificial joint in the loAver jaAv—an operation Avhich gave most satisfactory results in one of the cases under my OAvn treatment. Professor Esmarch says:— “ Injuries to the mucous membrane of the cheek damage the mobility of the loAver jaAv in a gi-eater or less degree by their cicatrization, as is Avell knoAvn. “ The cause of this anchylosis of the loAA-er jaAv is often thought to be a groAviug together of the inner surface of the cheek Avith the bones or gums; this is not a correct A'iew, hoAA'ever, and has, in many cases, led to improper treatment In order to clear up this eiTor it is necessary to examine the conditions AA'hlch, in health, make move- ments of the lower jaAV Avlthin the mouth possible. The cavity of the mouth is divided by the alveoli and teeth into an inner and outer space; the latter is closed in front by the cheeks and lips, Avhich form an elastic dilatable sac; Avithin this the roAvs of teeth “ Die Beh.andlung der narhigen Kieferklemme durch Bildung eines kiinstlichen Gelenkes um Unterkiefer. Kiel, ISSa.