The successful treatment of internal aneurism by consolidation of the contents of the sac : illustrated by cases in hospital and private practice / by Jolliffe Tufnell.

Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The successful treatment of internal aneurism by consolidation of the contents of the sac : illustrated by cases in hospital and private practice / by Jolliffe Tufnell. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. The original may be consulted at the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh.

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    treatment we require therefore a light, cheerful, and airy room, where by day the patient shall have an opportunity of seemg what is going on; and especial care must be taken that it has a southern aspect; for nothing is more depressing to the spirits of a patient than being immured m a chamber upon which the sun never shines. The next point to be attended to is the bed. It must be of camp form, so that the bowels when acting can be easHy reheved by an assistant with the pan, or (if not acting) by the ad- ministration of an enema, without disturbing the patient. Yet it must not be too narrow, as the sufferer would otherwise feel cramped and confined, and not sufficiently at ease. Upon the bedstead must be placed two hair mattresses, one upon the other, both full and elastic. Upon these (in proper site to receive the sacrum and liips) a large water-cushion properly but not over filled. Upon this a double blanket sown at the corners and sides to the lower mattress, and upon the blanket a fine Hnen sheet similarly attached, this being done to prevent all wiinkling in the bed and disturbance of the sheet on which the patient's legs and body lie; another linen sheet (folded as after a lithotomy operation) being laid transversely to receive the buttocks, and be drawn from beneath from time to time. Three or four good feather pillows to prop the shoulders and receive the head, together with the over clothes, complete the bed, on which, when once comfortably settled, the individual must be content to lie without changing his position further than to turn from side to side, or occasionally round upon his face, should such movement give relief to the dorsal pain, as it some- times will. A urinal and bed-pan must be at hand, and an attendant always ready to offer such aid as the patient may require : to read to, to converse with, or amuse him.