Permanent cure of reducible hernia / by George Hayward ; presented to the American Medical Association, at its session of May, 1852.

  • Hayward, George, 1791-1863.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Permanent cure of reducible hernia / by George Hayward ; presented to the American Medical Association, at its session of May, 1852. 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.)

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    Signorini, but from what we have been able to learn, we do not deem it of sufficient importance to give any detailed account of it. M. Velpeau states that he performed it once unsuccessfully; that it had been done by M. Gcrdy upon thirty patients ; and that, though many of them seemed for a time to have been cured, a sufficiently long period had not elapsed to enable any one to speak with confi- dence of the ultimate result. He also adds that he had seen three of the persons who had been thus operated on, and who thought for some time after the operation that they were cured, in all of whom the trouble had returned precisely as it was before. The truth seems to be that the adhesions which may be formed between the integuments and the interior of the canal are not very firm, and that, though they may for a time prevent the descent of the hernia, yet, as they are gradually absorbed, no resistance is at length offered to it. Mr. Velpeau observes that, though it is not actually a dangerous operation, there is some risk of wounding the epigastric artery, and there is some reason, too, to fear severe phlegmonous inflamma- tion or fatal peritonitis. M. Belma's operation attracted for a time some degree of attention, as it was less severe than that of M. Gerdy, and would, it was at first thought, be in all probability more successful. His first method consisted in introducing a small pouch of goldbeater's-skin into the upper part of the hernial sac. This was followed by an effusion of fibrine, which he supposed would, together with the goldbeater's-skin, become organized, and the two sides of the sac being firmly glued together must necessarily prevent any subsequent protrusion of the abdominal contents. lie afterwards modified his operation, because he found that his success did not equal his expectations. This he attributed to a de- ficiency of inflammation ; and with a view of increasing this, he intro- duced into the neck of the sac, as near the external ring as possible, small rolls of gelatine covered with goldbeater's-skin. There is no reason to believe that the result of this proceeding was any more favourable than that of the other. The operation has fallen into disuse. M. Velpeau says that the hernia returned more frequently after it than it did after that of M. Gerdy. Dr. Jameson, of Baltimore, has given a description of an autoplastic operation which he performed on a female for crural hernia. The Committee have not seen the original account of the case but have