Reflections suggested by a series of cases of renal calculus / by Rickman J. Godlee.

  • Godlee, Rickman John, Sir, 1849-1925.
Date:
[1887]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Reflections suggested by a series of cases of renal calculus / by Rickman J. Godlee. 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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    kidney, though I was prepared to undertake the operation if the fistula gave great trouble, because the diagnosis of strumous kidney seemed very probable; and though the urine secreted from the right kidney contained no albumen, the fact of the patient having suffered from general anasarca made it probable that it was not healthy. I have not seen her for some time, but Fig. 3. I am informed that she is alive and well, and that the fistula is closed, so that the wisdom of the expectant treatment has been justified by the result. The third case was that of a young lady aged twenty-five, who was under the care of Mr. R. P. Kobey, of Clapham, and was operated upon by Sir Joseph Lister, who kindly allows me to add it to this paper. She had suffered for several years from painful micturition, which had lately become much more troublesome, the pain being referred to the left ureter; while the left flank had become intensely tender, so that she could not bear any examination without an anaesthetic. There was no sign of phthisis. In April, 1882, she was much emaciated, and in a state of great prostration. There was a large amount of pus in the urine, and, under chloroform, a considerable renal tumour could be felt on the left side. Sir Joseph Lister exposed this through a lumbar incision, and after incising it an abscess was reached, from which three or four ounces of pus, having a faint stink, spurted out forcibly. A small round abscess cavity was then discovered communicating with that first opened, but no communication with the pelvis of the kidney was made out. The capsule was dense, but stripped off readily, and the renal substance divided in opening the abscess was about J thick, and had to the naked eye a healthy appearance. It had been intended to remove the kidney, but under the cir- cumstances disclosed it was thought best to drain the abscess,