Hospital statistics of stone in the bladder ... in the Royal Infirmary of Aberdeen ... 20th March, 1838 to 20th March, 1843 / [William Keith].

  • Keith, William, 1802 or 1803-1871
Date:
1844]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hospital statistics of stone in the bladder ... in the Royal Infirmary of Aberdeen ... 20th March, 1838 to 20th March, 1843 / [William Keith]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Although’ familiar with lithotrity, and successful in its practice previous to my appointment in March 1838, as one of the Surgeons to the Infirmary, and often urged to publish the result of my ex- perience in that mode of curing stone, yet, as I had no experience in lithotomy, in place of proclaiming the success of an isolated operation, I contented myself with merely publishing two cases,— the first so treated in Scotland,—in the October Number of the “Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal” for 1843, (Vol. xl. p# 480),—feeling convinced that, whatever the amount of an indi- vidual’s success might be, yet that the testimony of a person prac- tising one branch exclusively could aid the profession very little in rightly estimating the relative value of the different modes by which stone in the bladder is to be cured. The wider field for observation which I have since occupied has at length fully obviated the objec- tion to my evidence, above stated; and having patiently waited until the number of cases has so far accumulated as to afford a fair field for comparison, and sufficient material for safe induction, I venture to lay the annexed statistics before the profession, as in- troductory to some practical observations on the various modes proposed for curing this prevalent and painful malady, giving greatest prominence, in the first place, at all events, to lithotomy and lithotrity, these constituting the most efficient in the opinion of the writer. I would premise that every case that presented to me for admis- sion, whatever the age, or the state of health, or of constitution might be, was admitted, and is here accounted for ; and this I deem it necessary to state, because, judging from my experience, I should say, if select cases only were to be operated on, there need be few or no deaths after lithotomy or lithotrity. That the comparison,