A letter addressed to James Syme, esq., Professor of Clinical Surgery, Edinburgh, in refutation of certain statements made both by him and others, his advocates, in relation to a case of stricture of the urethra, in which the operation of perineal section was performed / by Francis Burdett Courtenay.

  • Courtenay, Francis Burdett, 1811-1886.
Date:
1852
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: A letter addressed to James Syme, esq., Professor of Clinical Surgery, Edinburgh, in refutation of certain statements made both by him and others, his advocates, in relation to a case of stricture of the urethra, in which the operation of perineal section was performed / by Francis Burdett Courtenay. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    letter, to understand distinctly that it is neither my intention nor •wish, to question your general professional talents as a surgeon, or even your skill as displayed in this case. Indeed, the question which you have raised between us is not one of surgical skill—it is one offact. You published an account of the case with certain, as I think, important omissions. Your work and statements pro- duced a perfect operative furor, at whose shrine human life was sacrificed; and I, seeing these dreadful results, with every pro- bability that more of my fellow-creatures would be immolated, endeavoured to arrest this torrent of unnecessary suffering and danger, by the publication of the case, with the additional informa- tion which you had neglected to supply. But in doing so, I treated you with respect; and, so far from aggravating the facts in my possession against you, I, on the contrary, dealt most leniently by you, as you or any one may satisfy himself by comparing the documents I now publish with my statements on this head in my pamphlet entitled “A Few Words on Perineal Section,” and which I could then, as now, have published. However, instead of my forbearance being met with something like a feeling of gratitude on your part, I did not even receive from you the com- mon courtesy due to me; but, on the contrary, you have ever since, either in your own person, or through the medium of others in your journal, alluded to me in the most offensive terms ; this will be sufficiently shown by the following quotation from the article by “ Crito Hypercriticus,”which appeared in the last number of your Journal. Speaking of the discussions raised by your operation, he says—“ The subject was taken up in the medical “ societies of London, where every puny ‘ whipster drew his sword “ in the argument, and thrust with right good will at the operation “ and the author of it. Then a Mr. Courtenay, somewhat noted for “ his advertisements in the newspapers and wrappers of periodicals, “ appeared in the field, first sending a plausible letter, as well as “ one of his own incurable patients, to Mr. Syme, and then turning “ his back on that gentleman, abusing his operation, and dragging “ his name with his own through the mire of one of his pamphlets. Now, if these statements and remarks had even been true aug- mented, still their introduction was totally beside the question, and they were, therefore, obviously only made use of with a view