A report of the trial of Cooper v. Wakley, for an alleged libel, taken by shorthand writers employed expressly for the occasion : with an engraving of the instruments, and the position of the patient / together with B. Cooper's "Prefatory remarks" on the evidence, and a copious explanatory appendix, by Thomas Wakley.

Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A report of the trial of Cooper v. Wakley, for an alleged libel, taken by shorthand writers employed expressly for the occasion : with an engraving of the instruments, and the position of the patient / together with B. Cooper's "Prefatory remarks" on the evidence, and a copious explanatory appendix, by Thomas Wakley. 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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    When that is done, is not the next operation to insert the finger? The next operation would be to withdraw your knife. Well, of course it would; {laughter); thank you ; the rext operation woiud be to withdraw the knife and start ? No, not the staff; keep the staff in, and intro- duce your finger to ascertain the wound you have made. To ascertain the wound you have made. Very well ; if you ascertain that the wound is sufficient—I am not speaking of this operation now, nor of any particular one—if you ascertain that the wound is sufficient, and the finger is inserted into the bladder, you endeavour to feel the stone if you can? Yes; I believe many would be pleased if ihey could do it, but it's not always the case. If you are so fortunate, then, as to feel it, you may direct the forceps along the finger and take hold of the stone with the end of the finger? Then you must have niade a very large wound indeed, or have a very small pair of forceps, or else you could not get your finger and the forceps in at the same time. Well; if you had occasion to make a larger incision, and the finger is in the bladder, what's the course then ? Why, ihe'course I should take, if i had got my staff in, would be to withdraw my finger, and introduce my knife again, and make a larger angle along the staff than 1 had done before. Lord Tenterden. Make a larger angle ? Make a larger angle, consequently a larger wound, my Lord. Sir James Scarlett. Now, if the staft'is withdrawn, would you know the urethra was cut with the knife ? Yes. Could you re-introduce the staff again, through the urethra, with safety? It's c]uite open ; it's laid open all in one wound; I could not introduce it again ; it's all in one wound. But, Sir, just attend to me, and understand my question. Suppose the staff was withdrawn, after the urethra and bladder were cut, could the sound be introduced again through the urethra ? There's no necessity, Sir. But if there was a necessity, could it be introduced ? You mean by beginning at the commencement of the penis. Yes ? You might do so, but it's quite useless. If you did that, would there nut be a chance of its coming out through the wound below A straight one would, but not a curved one. How could you be sure of that? I am only sm-e that the man who passed it could not be aware of what he was about, that's all I mean. But you are of opinion, there is no occasion to re-introduce the staff through the urethra ? Certainly not; not through the sound part of it. After the cut is made, the staff operates as a sound ? The straight staff will not do that. Is not the use of the sound, after the incision is made, merely to do away with the use of the staff ? No; certainly not. What's the use of it then? I have before said; satisfy yourself whether the wound is large enough, and then withdraw it ; you don't want three or four in» struments in the bladder at the same time. _ No, no; but suppose you want to sound again for the stone, would you introduce u^ihrough the urethra or perineal opening ? Through the perineal opening, on your Whereabouts did you stand ? When this operation was performed? Yes? Why, I had a chair to sit immediately behind Mr. Cooper. Very well; you sat behind him : did you know him ? I never saw him before that day. Now, Sir, I come to ask one or two more questions, and then I shall have done, u ^^^^^'^ ^^ the first incision was made into ttie bladder? I had no doubt, and have no doubt now. Do you believe that any person of competent judgment who witnessed the one- ration could doubt that? As I cannot doubt it myself, I do not know how anv body else can. {Laughter.) . ^ That is sufficient. Do you behevethat, in the first incision—I am only speakin- of the hrst-the point of the knife did find its way into the groove of the staff' I have before said, I am convinced that it did. ^ ^onnestan. i