Hydatid disease / by John Davies Thomas ; edited and arranged by Alfred Austin Lendon.

  • Thomas, J. Davies (John Davies), 1844-1893.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hydatid disease / by John Davies Thomas ; edited and arranged by Alfred Austin Lendon. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    undesirable one. The normal process of cure was well seen in the case of a child, aged eight, treated in 1886 by my colleague, Dr. Verco. Lindemann s operation was performed, and for four days the progress of the case was satisfactory ; on the fifth day, however, convulsions came on, with increased rapidity of pulse and respiration and deepening loss of consciousness, and the patient died, from no evident cause discoverable during life or after death. The condition of the sac was as follows :—“ The walls of the cavity had folded together over a considerable area, especially at the outer and back part, so that the opposed surfaces had come together, and here lymph had been poured out, which had united the surfaces by plastic adhesion, and had to this extent obliterated the sac.” Early union of this kind can only take place when the fibrous capsule is not rigid from degeneration ; but when the opposite condition exists, the process of cure mast, of necessity, be less prompt, for the walls of the cavity do not readily fall together. When the walls of the cavity collapse after the removal of the mother cyst, Arc., in my opinion it is better not to use injections during the after treatment, but when drainage by collapse of the sac and gravitation is inadequate and pus accumulates, as when the parasite invades or starts in the pelvis, injections may be necessary. I have seen pyrexia result in such a case from no discoverable cause, except that in spite of the use of large drainage tubes, &c., the secre- tions of the cavity could not freely escape. In cases where there is a tendency to the accumulation of the secre- tions of the capsule in the pelvis, probably the employment of aseptic capillaiy drains, enclosed in iudiarubber drainage tubes, would be pre- ferable to injections. 1 have not yet had the opportunity of trying this mode of drainage in hydatid cysts. The Results of Lindemann's Operation.—I have collected 68 cases of Liver Hydatids, treated by abdominal section, immediate removal of the mother-cyst, and stitching of the sac to the parietal wound. General Results. Deaths ... 7 or 10 29 per cent. Recoveries ... 61 or 89'70 per cent Deaths.—In one case the patient died during the operation from the sudden arrest of the circulation through the heart, by a hydatid cyst in it. In two other cases there were multiple hydatids in the body. Cures.—These amounted to the extraordinarily high proportion of nearly 90 per cent., and this fact alone establishes the claim of this operation to be regarded as by far the best method of treatment of