On the certainty and safety with which the operation for the extraction of a cataract from the human eye may be performed, and on the means by which it is to be accomplished / by G.J. Guthrie ; with remarks by Captain Kater on certain spots discoverable in the human eye, and on the manner of detecting their situation.

  • Guthrie, G. J. (George James), 1785-1856.
Date:
1834
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the certainty and safety with which the operation for the extraction of a cataract from the human eye may be performed, and on the means by which it is to be accomplished / by G.J. Guthrie ; with remarks by Captain Kater on certain spots discoverable in the human eye, and on the manner of detecting their situation. 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.

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    impending, or is supposed likely to occur, it should be allowed to pass over before the operation is performed; or if the patient has a strong determination of blood to the head, he should be cupped a few days before it is done, in addition to the bleeding recom- mended on the evening preceding the operation; and the same or greater precautions should be taken when there are indications of a tendency towards paralysis or apoplexy. These are, however, only the ordinary precautions which a well-informed surgeon would take in all other cases. When the operation is to be done on nervous persons, care must be taken on the other hand to prevent any undue depression of strength or spirits. There is a difference of opinion among surgeons, whether both eyes should be operated upon at once, or not. I am now decidedly for doing both opera- tions at the same time in all favourable cases; formerly I preferred doing first one, and when the patient had quite recovered, the other; and I recom- mended this proceeding from the common honesty which all surgeons should have, believing it to be for the advantage of the patient; but then I was not so certain of success as I am at present, and consequently wished to save even the smallest chance. I must confess that I did not then go to the performance of an operation with the same confidence that I do now, for I only expect a total failure as a matter of accident; rather as an untoward circumstance that may occur, than as one which is likely to occur; and as such an untoward accident would scarcely be possible, with respect to both eyes,