A case of hydrocele of the round ligament mistaken for and operated upon as a strangulated hernia : with remarks / by Chas. A. Hart.

  • Hart, Chas. A.
Date:
1872
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A case of hydrocele of the round ligament mistaken for and operated upon as a strangulated hernia : with remarks / by Chas. A. Hart. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/8 (page 4)
    The patient was very much averse to any surgical interference, but, having consented to an operation at the urgent request of her husband and medical attend¬ ant, at 8 o’clock was brought under the influence of chloroform, while in bed ; and, when fully anaesthetized, carried into the front parlor (where several assistants were waiting), and placed upon a table for operation. The tumor was now exposed, which was found to be larger than a hen’s egg, flattened, situated above Pou- parbis ligament, and in the direction of the inguinal canal. Dr. C. made a slight and ineffectual attempt at taxis, which served only to drive the contents of the tumor in a contrary direction, to one or the other side, or up¬ ward, which, as soon as pressure was discontinued, returned to its former size, site, and appearance. Dr. N. was requested to examine the tumor, and did so, recognizing at once its nature, for he immediately placed his hand above the tumor to exclude lateral light, and requested me to hold a candle close to it, which I did, when the diaphanous character of hydrocele became strikingly apparent. The parietes of the tumor were not tense, but soft. There was no opportunity afforded for advice or caution, as Dr. C. immediately commenced his operation by making an incision through the skin transversely across the abdomen, at least an inch and a half above Poupart's ligament, about four inches long, and another incision bisecting the first vertically, about three inches in length ; the upper line of tliis cut lay on the abdomen, the lower one across the tumor as far as its lower border, bringing into view 1 O O a smooth, bluish, and translucent sac. The four corners of the crucial cuts were dissected nn. and the whole x / tumor exposed, which could now no more be reduced than before, A prolonged attempt was now made to