Sarcoma of the tongue / by J.H. Targett.

  • Targett, James Henry, 1862-1913.
Date:
[1890]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Sarcoma of the tongue / by J.H. Targett. 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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    globular tumour, harder than the tissues of the tongue, and not fluctuating. It is most apparent on the left side of the freenum. This globular mass is separated by a groove from another swelling which extends along the left side of the floor of the mouth from the fraenum to the last molar tooth, is softer than the former, and semi-fluctuating. These two swellings appear to be connected deeply in the submaxillary region, for with the forefinger on the floor of the mouth and the thumb under the ramus of the jaw they seem to move as one. In the submaxillary region, too, is an enlarged, freely movable lymphatic gland. The patient can swallow easily and speak clearly, but the movements of the tongue are somewhat impeded by the tumour. There is no pain. The surface is not ulcerated. Antisyphilitic treatment was adopted for three weeks, but as there was no visible improvement an operation was recom- mended. Under an anaesthetic the left cheek was incised from the angle of the mouth backwards for an inch and a half, the tongue was drawn forwards, and was divided with scissors along the median line for the anterior two thirds of its length, and the left portion removed, including the growth and the mass in the floor of the mouth. There was free haemorrhage requiring many ligatures; afterwards the wound was painted over with iodoform in ether, and the incision of the cheek was closed. The subsequent treatment consisted in painting over the raw surface in the mouth with iodoform every hour for the first day, and less frequently afterwards ; and the patient was fed with milk through a tube passed over the back of the tongue. Within three weeks of the operation he was dis- charged quite well. Fifteen months after the operation the patient was again exa- mined, and a large mass found in the left submaxillary region, which had been slowly increasing in size. There was also a swelling below the zygoma on the right side of the face, which appeared to be a secondary deposit. In the floor of the mouth and the remainder of the tongue there was no recurrence. He complained of much discomfort in the chest, and had had a severe attack of bronchitis, but there were no physical signs of secondary disease in the lungs.