Commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, France, and the Netherlands : from the battle of Roliça, in 1808, to that of Waterloo, in 1815, showing the improvements made during and since that period in the great art and science of surgery on all the subjects to which they relate. Revised to 1853 / by G.J. Guthrie.

  • Guthrie, G. J. (George James), 1785-1856.
Date:
1853
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Commentaries on the surgery of the war in Portugal, Spain, France, and the Netherlands : from the battle of Roliça, in 1808, to that of Waterloo, in 1815, showing the improvements made during and since that period in the great art and science of surgery on all the subjects to which they relate. Revised to 1853 / by G.J. Guthrie. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    is to be sponged with cold water and dried; the bandage rolled steadily down the thigh; the muscles and integuments brought forward and placed in apposition, horizontally, across the face of the stump, and retained by leaden sutures and adhesive piasters carefully applied, from below upwards, and from above downwards; the ligatures being brought out nearly as straight as possible, in two or three places between the slips of plaster, unless both ends have been cut short. A compress of lint is to be placed over and under the wound, supported by two slips of bandage in the form of a Maltese cross, vertically and horizontally, and the whole se- cured by a few more turns of the bandage. No stump-cap is to be applied; the stump is to be raised a little on a proper pillow from the bed, in which the patient lies on his back; and if the bone appear to press too much against the upper flap, the body may be a little raised, which will relieve it. In secondary amputation of the thigh, the integuments may not be sound, and will not retract, in which case they must be dissected back to an equal distance all round. If the muscles are much diminished in size, or flabby, they should be left even longer than may appear necessary for the formation of a good stump; and this is to be done more especially on the under part, for the bone will frequently protrude under these circumstances, when enough has been supposed to have been preserved. In all these cases the bone should be shorter than usual, and the skin should, if possible, retain its attach- ments to the parts beneath. No inconvenience can ever arise from too much muscle and skin in a circular stump; but it does sometimes from too much skin alone. In primary operations there will be from three to seven vessels to be tied; in secondary ones, from ten to sixteen, and even then there may be an oozing from the stump. In thiB case a little delay in searching for the vessels is necessary; the tourniquet and all tight bandages should be removed, and the stump well sponged with cold water before it is dressed. A certain degree of oozing is to be expected from all stumps, although it does not always occur; but when there is really any haemorrhage, so that blood distils freely through the dressings, the stump should be opened, when the bleeding vessel will