Volume 1

System of gynecology / by American authors ; edited by Matthew D. Mann.

Date:
1887-1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: System of gynecology / by American authors ; edited by Matthew D. Mann. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

    29/806 (page 25)
    for the operation. The heroine travelled this distance on horsebax;k, was operated on in December, 1809, she being then forty-seven years of age, and at the end of twenty-five days returned to her home, where she lived for thirty-two more years, during which she enjoyed for the most part excellent health, and died at length in the seventy-ninth year of her age. When we remember the facts that this first operation for the removal of an ovarian tumor was performed before the days of anaesthesia, and that Dr. McDowell had none of the advantages of the trained assistants and perfected instruments which are now deemed so essential to the success of this operation, the courage of the woman and the skill and intelligent daring of the surgeon combine to form a picture which is unique for its grandeur in the annals of surgery. Dr. McDowell's delay in reporting this case of ovariotomy was in singular contrast with the more commendable practice of these later days. Instead of immediately giving a description of his wonderful case for the benefit of his contemporaries, he waited for seven years, during which time he successfully performed two other ovariotomies. His I'eport of these three cases appeared in the October (1816) issue of the Eclectic Repertory and Analytical Review. It was a document remarkable for its brevity, that portion of it covering the case which has made his name immortal, and which demonstrated the practicability of a procedure which more than any other has lengthened the average of woman's life and diminished the sum of her sorrow, not occupying more space than a page the size of that on which this sketch appears. The incision was made about three inches from the musculus rectus abdominis on the left side, parallel to the fibres of this muscle, and nine inches in length and extending into the abdomen. The abdominal parietes were found to be very much contused, owing, it was supposed, to the tumor's resting on the horn of the saddle during the journey. A ligature was throAvn around the Fallopian tube near the uterus, when the tumor was cut open, and fifteen pounds of a dirty, gelatinous- looking substance removed. The sac was afterward amputated at the ligature, and was found to weigh seven pounds and a half. As soon as the external opening was made the intestines rushed out on the table, and so completely was the abdomen filled by the tumor that they could not be replaced during the operation, which was terminated in about twenty-five minutes. The woman was then placed on her left side, so as to permit the blood to escape, after which the external opening was closed with the interrupted suture, leaving out at the lower end of the incision the ligature which surrounded the Fallopian tube. Between every two stitches was put a piece of adhesive plaster, which, by keep- ing the parts in contact, hastened the healing of the incision. The usual dressing was then ap]ilied, the patient put to bed, and placed on a strict antiphlogistic regimen. On visiting her five days after, Dr.