An aseptic atmosphere; club foot; A rectal obturator; Palatoplasty.

  • Prince, David, 1816-1889.
Date:
1888
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An aseptic atmosphere; club foot; A rectal obturator; Palatoplasty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University Libraries/Information Services, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the the Augustus C. Long Health Sciences Library at Columbia University and Columbia University.

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    By the use of these needles the time necessary for the operation is greatly diminished. This is an important consideration in an operation which is necessarily slow. It lias until now been a desideratum to protect the shallow sutures from the strain occasioned by the action of the tenosor palati muscles; and for this purpose, Dieffenbach many years ago had practiced deep vertical incisions. The dangerous hemorrhage occuring in some instances, prevented the general adoption of this expedient. The present writer has employed the platinum wire heated by the galvanic current to secure a vertical parting of the substance without hemorrhage. This plan is found to be attended with some loss of sub- stance, and is on that account objectionable. Since that time, it has been found that the use of the galvano-cautery can be discontinued and the same object secured without waste of sub-, stance, by the employment of a modification of the quilled suture, a plan for which (with cut) may be found in the Annals of Anatomy and Surgery for March, 1883, under the name of The Bead Suture. This suture is easy of introduction, and it performs the office of a splint—diminishing the movements of the parts of the palate, and entirely taking the strain off from the shallow stitches. The necessity for wounding any of the deep vessels is entirely obviated, and the parts are held so firmly together that failure to unite by the first intention must be a rare exception- The cut furnishes three illustra- tions of the bead suture. 1 The completed suture, the beads ly- ing upon the natural surface of the skin ;s?g or mucous membrane. 2 At the bottom is the same stitch in- complete. The bite of the forceps em- ployed in twisting the silver wire is also seen. 3 The middle figure shows the em- ployment of two beads on a side for greater breadth. The cut also shows a lateral in- cision on either side for the better approxi- I matron without tension. The beads lie in the furrow made by this incision. The suture admits of tighten- ing up, if found to be too lax at any time after its introduction. The utility of the closure of the cleft palate, both hard and soft, be- comes apparent in every case. Sounds which are impossible with a permanently open communica- V tion between the mouth and the N pharynx, and especially between Pis. 14. the mouth and nose, become executed with more or less approximation to perfection.