The principles of surgery / by James Syme.

  • Syme, James, 1799-1870.
Date:
1863
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The principles of surgery / by James Syme. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    duction as expansion of the polypous growth, and the repeated relapses, tlierefore, ought not to occasion discouragement. Astrin- gent washes and caustic are sometimes employed to repress the tendency to new formation, hut there is reason to helieve that the good effects ohtained in this way are very inconsiderable, and it would be improper to confide in them so far as to with- hold the use of the forceps, so long as any vestige of the disease can be discovered to exist. It is necessary to beware of mis- taking for this disease a mere thickening of the mucous mem- brane over the inferior spongy bone, which is common in children, or a projection of the septum to one side, which exists to a slight degree in most people, and not unfrequently encroaches so mucli on the nostril as to occasion serious inconvenience. The next kind of polypous growth from the nasal cavities that may be mentioned is of variable consistence, from the soft- ness of brain to the firmness of glandular tissue, but is always extremely friable in its structure, so as to tear easily, and when subjected to extension, gives way at the part where the force is applied. It bleeds profusely when injured—tends to increase without any limitation, making room for its accommodation by expanding and separating the bones of the face—and is found to originate from the osseous substance of the parietes of the cavity. This medullary, bleeding, or malignant polypus, as it is named, usually occurs at the middle and later periods of life. It is distinguished by the characters which have been mentioned, and by being attended with pain, and bloody or purulent fetid discharge. The rapidity of its progress is very variable, but its result is always unfavourable. The radical removal of this disease is impracticable, and when the morbid disposition is very active, or when the disposi- tion to bleed is great, any attempts to delay its progress by extracting as miich of the mass as can be reached, are hardly- prudent, being more likely to accelerate than prolong the patient's fate. In cases of a milder description, advantage may be derived from clearing the nostrils occasionally, which is easily accom- plislied, and relieves the patient from time to time. The opera-