Cataract in the Madras presidency Southern India : with a tabular statement of five hundred cases / by T. H. Pope.

  • Pope, Thomas H. (Thomas Henry)
Date:
1896
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cataract in the Madras presidency Southern India : with a tabular statement of five hundred cases / by T. H. Pope. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    The subject of Cataract is one that has been so ably handled, and so fully treated by ophthalmic surgeons practising in dif- ferent parts of the world, that indeed there seems to be little, if anything, new to be submitted to the profession concerning this most interesting lesion. Surgeons, however, practising in India, have a very large experience in the operative surgery of the eye; and I have taken advantage of ' times of rest and leisure' during furlough from Madras to state the results of my experience gained in the excellent Ophthalmic Hospital of that city. The institution belongs to the State, and is maintained entirely at the State expense. Some idea of the practical work of this hospital may be formed, when I mention that it has eleven wards (or eighty beds) for patients of all creeds and castes of either sex ; and an out-patient department, with a daily average attendance of over 120 individuals. The professional duties are carried on by a surgeon of the Indian Medical Service, who is termed the superintendent, assisted by a quali- fied assistant-surgeon of the subordinate service, and two qualified native hospital assistants. All operations, both major and minor, are performed (as is the practice in all hospitals in Great Britain and the Continent) by the superintendent alone. It will be seen, therefore, that such a large amount of work could not be overtaken except by well-arranged methods, and careful organization, and prompt action. The one regret, expe- rienced by many members of the profession in the service of the State in India, including myself, is that the work is too heavy; 15 I