High-frequency current in ophthalmic practice / by L. Webster Fox.

  • Fox, Lawrance Webster, 1853-1931.
Date:
[1907]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: High-frequency current in ophthalmic practice / by L. Webster Fox. 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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    the color of the inflamed iris, but the pain was certainly less- ened. In one case, where the supra- and infra-orbital pains were intense and nothing but dionin relieved these pains before the application of the high-frequency current, the cflfect of ten minutes’ treatment during the painful attack was magical; it gave instant relief, which lasted for three or four hours. Ophthalmoplegia intema—i case. Ten applications were made over the superior ganglion of the cervical sympathetic without contracting the dilatation of the iris. This treatment was suspended and other means of treatment adopted. Vitreous opacities—20 cases—including all forms, from simple hyalitis to the marked products of chorio-retinitis, cyclitis, and hemorrhages. These cases were given a great deal of attention. While in the majority of cases there seemed some clarification, yet the total outcome did not show as much improvement as was found subsequently under the constant current—voltaic alternatives—and saline injections. I was determined to give this most troublesome condition a thorough trial. As many as fifty applications were given to the cases that gave even slight encouragement. Evidently, the cata- phoric action of this current is not the same as that of the constant current. Retinitis pigmentosa—3 cases. Characterized by marked deposit of pigment, diminution of the blood vessels, pallor of the disk, and contraction of the visual fields down to 10, 20, and 30 degrees respectively. Vision ranging from 20-200 to 20-50. The patient who showed the most marked improvement was a female thirty-two years of age. From January 8 to March 28, 1906, thirty-one applications were given. The patient lived some distance from Philadelphia, and was obliged to return home. To continue the good results obtained, she took home with her a dry cell battery with instructions to apply the weak current three times weekly. The negative pole to be placed over the eye and the positive pole to the back of the neck or the temple. The other two cases did not show as marked improve- ment, both being older, forty-eight and fifty-two respectively, but both fields were enlarged and the vision slightly improved. The action of the high-frequency currents here is somewdiat similar to the constant current, and under similar conditions probably productive of the same results.