Electrical anaesthesia : comprising a brief history of its discovery, a synopsis of experiments, also full directions for its application in surgical & dental operations / by W.G. Oliver.

  • Oliver, W. G.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Electrical anaesthesia : comprising a brief history of its discovery, a synopsis of experiments, also full directions for its application in surgical & dental operations / by W.G. Oliver. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    18/26
    Previous to extracting teeth by this process, it is essential in every case that the susceptibility of the patient be measured in the manner previously described. Sdll, after all due care has been exercised, cases will occur occasionally in which the operator will find he has been mistaken, and the current will prove either too strong or too weak; it will be found a good rule of practice to commence the operation of extracting very slowly, at first, until confidence is acquired by practice in this process, and if the patient should exhibit symptoms of pain, desist at once, and ascertain by enquiring the cause. If it is found that pain was felt, withdraw the piston and commence again, taking care to increase the current by passing the piston two or three degrees further in. But if the foregoing rules have been strictly observed, it will be found, nine times in ten, that the exclamation was caused by fear, not pain. It very often occurs with us, after nearly a year's expe- rience, that patients will make just as much fuss as they did under the old process of extracting without an Anaesthetic, and when questioned as to why they did so, will answer, I was afraid it would hurt!! ! I observe it is asserted iti a Report of the Committee of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, who were appointed to investigate the claims advanced by Dr. Francis of that City, in favor of the Electrical process for extracting teeth, that most persons suppose there is a shock expe- rienced on its application, or that it is painful to the tooth; these objections are not correct: we applied it in many cases and the pain was considerably less than in the ordinary way, in all except one case. Now, whether my theory of its operation is correct or not, it is quite plain to me that the positions here assumed are untenable. / know that by the Francis process the operation is performed under the influ- ence of a shock. In the August No. of the Dental Reporter, it is asserted on the part of the Francis process: It is well to have the cord or wire from the machine to the hand interrupted, but so arranged by means of a foot board that the circuit can be completed by pres- sure on the foot board, and that the current be not allowed to flow until the forceps grasp the tooth ready to be extracted, as it has been observed that the current does not paralyze the sense of pain. When it has been applied a little length of time, only the shock of its appli- cation, and the immediate loss of sensation seemed to answer the pur- pose completely.