On the improvements which have been introduced into the practice of surgery in Great Britain within the last thirty years / by James Syme.

  • Syme, James, 1799-1870.
Date:
[1853]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the improvements which have been introduced into the practice of surgery in Great Britain within the last thirty years / by James Syme. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    t improbable that some of them at least may ultimately be established in practice. But in the mean time, I think it is better that our at¬ tention, upon such an occasion as the present, should be confined to points of advantage so well ascertained as to leave no room for doubt in any reasonable and unprejudiced mind. Thirty years ago, a dresser commenced the discharge of his daily duty in the hospital, by spreading a quantity of calamine cerate upon pieces of lint or linen, and cutting some sheets of adhesive plaster into narrow strips. He then proceeded to dress all the suppurating sores, by applying to each a pledget of ointment, next a cushion of carded tow, and finally a long bandage to keep all secure for twenty-four hours. At present the use of greasy applications and elaborate bandaging is almost entirely abandoned in such cases ; the water dressing—or wet lint covered with oiled silk—being substi¬ tuted with great advantage, in regard not only to convenience, but also to promotion of the healing process. The strips of adhesive plaster prepared by the dresser were devoted chiefly to the treatment of indolent or callous ulcers of the legs, according to the method of Dr Baynton. This was a process so troublesome and expensive, as very much to limit the relief afforded to such cases by rendering them unpopular subjects of hospital treat¬ ment. But it is now well known that the hard swelling of the limb, which gives these ulcers their peculiar character, may be quickly removed by the application of a large blister, so as to allow speedy healing and sound cicatrisation without further trouble, and thus place the means of recovery within the reach of the poorest and most destitute of patients. Varicose ulcers of the legs also used to be treated by the same process of strapping with adhesive plaster, but are now known to heal readily under the simple application of the black wash. There was another class of ulcers held to require very severe means of treatment. This was the syphilitic, or more correctly the mer¬ curial sore, of a sinuous or burrowing character, which is so common wherever the delusion of mercury prevails, in all parts of the body, but especially the inner side of the legs and thighs. Its remedy was believed to be impracticable, except through the agency of caustic potass, a stick of which was pushed into all the winding sinuosities of the sore, and rubbed over the discoloured skin sur¬ rounding its orifices, so as to destroy the vitality of the unhealthy textures,^ with what pain to the patient may be easily imagined, and not readily forgotten by any one who has heard the walls of an hos¬ pital resounding with the shrieks of agony so excited. Now-a-days, instead of this severe discipline, a gentle administration of the hy- driodate of potass, to the extent of two grains, twice or thrice a-day, and a blister applied over the sore, afford the relief desired not only without suffering worthy of mention, but much more quickly than in the other way. The same sort of constitutional and local treat-