Cases requiring abdominal operations in the service of Dr. J.F.W. Ross at the Toronto General Hospital during the summer of 1891.

  • Ross, James Frederick William, 1856-1911.
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cases requiring abdominal operations in the service of Dr. J.F.W. Ross at the Toronto General Hospital during the summer of 1891. 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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    , ■ -7 ,' 6 ROSS : CASES REQUIRING ABDOMINAL OPERATIONS. Cause of death, septic peritonitis ; source of sepsis un- known. Place of Operation.—General theatre of a general hospital, owing to alterations in Woman’s Pavilion. Time of Operation.—Summer months. Washed out nine, drained sixteen ; drained every case washed out. Fatal case not washed out, but drained. Anesthetic.—Chloroform alone, nineteen; ether alone, not one; began chloroform, finished with ether, two. Antiseptic used.—Iodoform powder in two (Porro’s opera- tion and appendicitis). Bichloride of mercury solution for the hands before operation. Wound Dressing.—Ordinary fresh absorbent cotton in bichloride gauze in some cases, in plain gauze in others. Skin Cleansing.—Soap and water, turpentine, and then alcohol. Suture Material.—Silkworm gut. Ligature Material.—Best Chinese silk. Room Preparation.—Sulphur fumigation in some when the room had previously been occupied by a suspicious case. Cases without drainage tubes were taken at once into the woman’s ward. Theatre Preparation.—Thoroughly cleansed and aired; occasionally fumigated. One case reopened in small emer- gency room without any preparation ; rapid recovery. Stitch-hole Abscesses.—One or two in case of hysterectomy; no others. Stitches removed on first appearance of irritation. Time of Operation.—Morning, when theatre had been aired all night. People Admitted.—No one from post-mortem or dissecting room. No one but immediate assistants admitted to floor of theatre. Sponges used.—My own in most cases. Instruments.—My own in all but one or two cases, and in all the severe cases; brought directly from my own house. Preparation of Instruments.—Boiled for a few minutes and wrapped in clean towels. Drainage Tubes and Suckers used.—My own in all cases. Silk used.—My own.