The surgical works, or, Statement of the doctrine and practice of P.J. Desault (Volume 2).

  • Desault, P.-J. (Pierre-Joseph), 1738-1795.
Date:
1814
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The surgical works, or, Statement of the doctrine and practice of P.J. Desault (Volume 2). Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    these retentions of urine, there should appear abscesses or urinary deposits in the iliac or lumbar region. In order to propel stones, that are stopped in the ure- ters, and to accelerate their descent into the bladder, it has been advised to use vomits, and exercise on foot or horse; in one word, whatever may excite agitations. These means should be employed with great prudence, and cannot be used, when the patient is weak and ex- periences pain. It is not so with baths and copious mucilaginous drinks; these means arc very proper to facilitate the descent of stones in the ureters, and their use does not expose to any danger, unless there should be a total retention of the urine. The extraction of stones, that are stopped at the opening of the ureters into the bladder, has unto this day appeared very difficult, even to the most experien- ced practitioners; they have followed different processes for disengaging these extraneous bodies from the en- velope which retains them. All have not ascertained that the stone was encysted, until after the incision was made into the bladder, as in the common operation for the stone. Without this previous incision it is, in fact, im- possible to be certain of the precise spot occupied by the extraneous body. Some have then proposed, either to thin the envelope by repeated introductions of the sound, and by a gentle friction of that portion of the bladder and ureter, which covers the stones, or to lacer- ate, by embracing the tumour with the forceps, and squeezing them gently and repeatedly. These methods are tedious and extremely painful; they hurt and bruise the bladder, give rise to the inflammation and suppura- tion of this viscus, and put the life of the patients in the greatest danger. Others have had recourse to emollient injections, to disengage stones that were thus encysted. Ledran, who employed these injections, was not able