History of a successful case of amputation at the hip joint / by J. Sampson Gamgee.

  • Gamgee, Sampson, 1828-1886.
Date:
1865
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: History of a successful case of amputation at the hip joint / by J. Sampson Gamgee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by UCL Library Services. The original may be consulted at UCL (University College London)

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    INTRODUCTION Amputation at the Hip-joint can never cease to be a matter of more than ordinary interest, as one of the comparatively rare operations of Surgery, in which a vast wound is inflicted in immediate proximity to the trunk ; with the certainty that, however well the case may be selected, however dexterously the manual procedure may be executed, and however prudently the after treatment may be directed, the result must prove fatal in a large number of instances. The circumstances under which the operation here narrated was performed, were in many respects exceptional. The patient was so emaciated and weakened—almost exhausted—by the enormous and long-standing disease, and by poor living, that I should not have interfered, had I not been impressed with the man's calm courage, and been convinced of his constitutional soundness. The disease was growing so rapidly, and, on careful measurement, I found the space for operation so barely sufficient, that it was impossible to entertain the idea of deLrying the disarticulation, while an endeavour was made, to improve the general powers. The man had apparently only a very few weeks to live; and in all probability a supply of nourishment, even had it resulted in some constitutional benefit, would have given such an impulse to the morbid growth as altogether to preclude operative interference. Immediate surgical action offered the only chance, and it was not delayed an hour beyond what was absolutely necessary for the preparation of instruments and apparatus; especially the aortic tourniquet and a suitable sling, to meet the extraordinary emergency. The mass removed weighed upwards of 99 pounds, considerably more than half the weight of the entire body. Convalesence was rapid and the recovery complete—a result for which I am in great measure indebted to the able and untiring assistance I received, from my colleagues and pupils, during and after the operation.