Further observations upon the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic appendicitis : with the report of sixty-one chronic cases operated upon, with one death / by John B. Deaver.

  • Deaver, John B. (John Blair), 1855-1931.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Further observations upon the etiology, diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic appendicitis : with the report of sixty-one chronic cases operated upon, with one death / by John B. Deaver. 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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    Case I.—On the evening of June 26, 1894,1 was called to see Dr. J. H. B., aged forty-five, one of our leading practitioners. I found him suffering with acute abdominal pain, most intense in the right iliac fossa, the character of which I recognized as that of appendicular colic. He gave a history of chronic intestinal dyspepsia extending back for a period of years, also a vague history of having suf- fered in the past from a slight attack of appendicitis. Three days prior to my visit he had suffered from an acute attack of indigestion, the result of indis- cretion in diet, which had been somewhat relieved by active purgation. The day of my visit he had had several bowel-movements, yet the pain in the right iliac fossa, which was paroxysmal, was increas- ing in intensity, notwithstanding the fact that he had taken, upon his own responsibility, one-fourth of a grain of morphin. Physical examination of the abdomen convinced me that the man was suffering from an acute, progressive attack of appendicitis. I advised immediate operation, and at 8 o’clock the following morning I removed the acutely inflamed appendix, the mesenteric attach- ment of which was gangrenous in its distal half. Recovery was uninterrupted. Case II.—Dr. J. C. R., aged twenty-two, resident physician in the German Hospital, while on duty was taken sick on the evening of August 30, 1894, with severe general abdominal pain, soon becoming localized in the right iliac fossa. Under active pur- gation he was somewhat relieved, but the appen- dicular pain persisted. On the evening of the 31st I was asked to see the patient by Dr. Frese, the chief resident physician of the hospital, who informed me that in his judgment the doctor was not so well, and he feared the case was progressing unfavorably.