On the influence of nasal stenosis on the general health / by W. Spencer Watson.

  • Watson, Sir William Spencer, 1836-1906.
Date:
[1892?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the influence of nasal stenosis on the general health / by W. Spencer Watson. 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.

    10/16
    Irritation of the larynx, trachea, and bronchi follows, and in the worst cases bronchitis results. In the generality of cases the effects of stenosis are not so severe. As to asthma, I have only had three cases in some hundreds of cases of chronic hypertrophic rhinitis. One of my cases of asthma associated with polypi and hypertrophy of the turbinates has been already briefly related in this room. A stoutish married woman, 35 years of age, had suffered from undoubted spasmodic asthma for eighteen years. When I first saw her about two years ago she had numerous polypi and advanced hypertrophy of the turbinates, but these had been previously discovered, and yet for various reasons no operation had been proposed. Here the asthma seemed to be of a confirmed type, and was, moreover, com- plicated with vesicular emphysema and frequent attacks of bron- chitis. Nevertheless, I advised operation, and removed polypi and hypertrophied membrane freely and thoroughly by two operations. The result exceeded my expectations and those of my colleagues who watched the case. For between five and six months there was not a single recurrence of the asthmatic paroxysms, and the general health improved so much that the woman was able to go to work as a domestic servant, though for many years before she had been incapacitated. For some months she was able to do some very hard work, but in April, seven months after the first series of operations, she had a recurrence of her old ailment. I found some broad based polypi which I have removed by several repeated operations with only partial relief of the asthma. After the last operation on November 5th, she had a severe attack of bronchitis, and great oppression of breathing with regular mid- night attacks, and these were controlled only by the use of 8-grain doses of citrate of caffeine. There has been no attack now since December 10th, but she is again suffering from subacute bronchitis and the dyspnoea consequent on the vesicular emphysema. It is quite clear that in this instance of apparently confirmed asthma much benefit resulted from the employment of local treatment. In most cases, however, within my experience, brilliant results are more than can be expected or hoped for. Bosworth, of New York, indeed, and Schmiegelow, of Copenhagen, have had extraordinarily successful cases, the former having cured or relieved seventy-two out of eighty persons operated on for asthma or hay-asthma. Hay-Asthma.—As for hay-asthma, the disease is obviously one