Surgical cases in private and hospital practice / by George Buchanan.

  • Buchanan, George, 1827-1905.
Date:
1862
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Surgical cases in private and hospital practice / by George Buchanan. 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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    through the aperture. Occasionally the wound was kept clear by sponging away some tough bronchial secretion which came away by the effort of coughing. She took a httle beef-tea and wine ne°us which was swallowed without much difficulty, i ie temperature of the room was carefully attended to, and steam was kept constantly diffused by the means above mentioned. 1 need not continue daily formal reports, but will add that the little patient continued to improve till the sixth day, when i found that respiration was going on so freely through the larynx that the wound could be shut up without annoyance. A piece ot carded cotton was placed in the wound and retained by a loose bandage round the neck. On the fourteenth day the wound was so much decreased in size by the process of granulation and con- traction that I could easily bring the edges together with a strip of adhesive plaster. In three weeks cicatrization of the wound was complete, respiration was free; the voice had returned, though still feeble; and the child was able to run about the house and play with the other children; and I gave up regular attendance at the end of March. Her health, however, was much weakened, and a tendency to stoop, which she had before her present illness, was increased. About a month after the operation it was observed that occasionally she had a slight squint in one eye; but this was only noticeable at intervals. Dr. Clark was visiting the other children in the family on the 16 th of April, and being informed of the tendency to squinting just mentioned, ordered a purgative of calomel and scammony, which was given immediately. Vomiting came on soon after this, and continued without intermission for several hours. In the evening I was sent for to see the child, whom I found quite exhausted from the severity of the sickness and retching. I ordered hot fomentations to the belly, and warm brandy and water to be given frequently in small quantities. The vomiting soon ceased, and the patient continued quiet but weak all night. Next morning she seemed somewhat better; but about 2 p.m. she was seized with a convulsion fit, in which she died. Dr. Clark was in the house at the time, and saw her in the convul- sions. He sent me the following note regarding the manner of her death:— u My dear Sir—I am exceedingly sorry to inform you that your late very interesting patient, without any manifest cause, took a convulsion fit between one and two o’clock, and died about a quarter past two. I saw her during the fit; the respiration was quite free, though her mother said she had been complaining of her throat in the forenoon. I looked into it and found the velum and tonsils quite natural; and to convince her mother that it was not much affected, I gave her a spoonful of water which she