Report of Dr. Joseph H. Warren, of Massachusetts, chairman of Committee on Foreign Delegates : also essay on new surgical instruments.

  • Warren, Joseph H.
Date:
1881
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of Dr. Joseph H. Warren, of Massachusetts, chairman of Committee on Foreign Delegates : also essay on new surgical instruments. 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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    # extcnsivel}' used in Guy’s Hospital. It will be noticed that the jaws are very broad. I saw several in use during operations in the hospital, and owing to their great simplicity and strength they are the most powerful and best torsion forceps I have ever -seen. (See Fig. 9.) Self-retaining trocar for the operation of paracentesis thoracica. This consists of a shaft of a flat oval shape throughout its length, attached to a handle. The point is composed of two parts which separate in their centre, and are attached to the shaft of the in- strument by hinges. They are opened and closed by a rein pass- ing from the handle through the shaft to the points. After they have thus been opened at right angles they can be fastened by a screw in the handle. The continuous opening in the shaft runs through the handle, so that upon a nipple or elongation upon the end a rubber aspirating tube can be attached. The effusion of the chest can thus readily he withdrawn, and any disinfectant agent introduced for washing out the parts. It makes one of the most complete self-retaining trocars that I have ever seen. The pene- tration of the trocar through the parts is far superior to that of the ordinary trocar; and the flat oval puncture that it makes more readily coapts than a round wound. I next show you my latest devised hernia syringe (Fig. 7), for a more complete description of which I would refer you to my work on hernia. It is similar in appearance to my other hernia instrument, but lighter and much less expensive, being at the same time fully as effective. It has a glass barrel fitted within a cylinder of silver, which has a fenestrated opening to present a view of the barrel and its contents. A valve controls the in- jection of the fluid, the head of the needle revolves on a ruby, and a spiral spring upon the piston within the barrel forces the plunger down upon the fluid, ejecting it through the valve. A screw on the piston, similar to that in use on the common hypo- dermic syringe, regulates with great certainty the number of drops of fluids we wish to use. The needles are flattish, oval in shape, and are twisted throughout their entire length. It should be remembered that from their peculiar form and twist they make an incision only about one-half the size of round needles which measure the same on the scale. The needle is pierced with ten openings in its side, which causes a more free and equal distribution of the fluid ejected. The difference between this and the hypodermic needle is, that, instead of the direct