Report of the trial, Cooper versus Wakley, for libel / from the notes of W.B. Gurney ; with remarks on the evidence, by Bransby B. Cooper.

  • Cooper, Bransby Blake, 1792-1853.
Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the trial, Cooper versus Wakley, for libel / from the notes of W.B. Gurney ; with remarks on the evidence, by Bransby B. Cooper. 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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    -/ .V/;-. Walla/.—State what you saw of the operation.—I saw the staff in- oduced by Mr. Bransby Cooper, and then Mr. Callaway was desired to old the staff on the leftside of the patient; and then Mr. Bransby Cooper nade what is called the external incision, a cut which he did very properly ; >ut then, after going on with the second incisiou, he went, I cannot pretend o say where he went, being situated by the side, but he was a very long time doing it; and after finishing, as I considered, the second incision, he carried his knife forward, and I should say, he held his arm too high; and then he carried his knife forward, as I should consider, between the bladder and the rectum, the fundament; then there was a flow of blood followed ; he then passed his finger into the wound, and then he carried in, on his finger, a pair of forceps, straight forceps, and he attempted to extract the stone; he failed in doing so; he theu passed the forceps in four times fol- lowing, and he did not succeed in extracting the stone ; and he then passed in his finger again into the wound, and used great violence in so doing. I should say, in withdrawing those forceps, a squashing noise was heard; he then called for a crooked pair of forceps, which he passed in upon his finger into the wound, and poked them about in the wound, in which he used great violence in so doing; he then withdrew them and passed them in a second time, and he again withdrew them, and he passed them in a fourth time. Lord Tenterden.—A fourth time ?—Yes ; a fourth time. Lord Tenterden.—Go on.—And then he called for Sir Astley Cooper's knife—Sir Astley was mentioned—and he made a cut with this knife, and passed his finger into the wound again, and used violence in passing his finger; twisted the finger round several times in the wound, and he then did not succeed in extracting the stone; and he then began to appear to be very much confused; his hand shook a great deal, and he appeared very pale, and his lips shook very much; and that which I described, I should consider occupied thirty-five minutes; at the expiration of which time I quitted the theatre. What was your impression relative to the manner in which the operation was performed ?—I thought it was very badly performed; very badly per* formed, very improperly performed. Have you witnessed many operations for lithotomy ?—A great many. How many ?—At least twenty. How long have they lasted generally ?—I never saw one last longer than from seven to ten minutes. How quickly have you seen the operation performed ?—In less than a minute. Cross-examined by Sir James Scarlett. Where do you carry on your business as a surgeon ?—At Beaminster, in Dorsetshire. How long have you been there?—Four years; more than four years tour years and a half. Are you assistant to any person there ?—Mr. Phelps. Has he any connexion with Mr. Wakley ?—Yes. What?—He married Mr. Wakley's sister.