Contributions to the surgical treatment of tumors of the abdomen. Part II. Electricity in the treatment of uterine tumours / by Thomas Keith and Skene Keith.

  • Keith Skene, 1858-1919.
Date:
1889
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Contributions to the surgical treatment of tumors of the abdomen. Part II. Electricity in the treatment of uterine tumours / by Thomas Keith and Skene Keith. 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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    could have been worse than I was with that awful haemor- rhage. This patient's importunity had almost driven me into doing hysterectomy for her. The cases are narrated in the order in which they presented themselves. Every one is given, as well as the amount of every dose of electricity, even in one of the dispensary cases, though only a single application was made. In these dispensary patients there was much trouble and loss of time in finding out their after-history. This was, however, obtained in nearly every case, though it necessitated two special journeys to Edinburgh to search them all out. About half of the cases that presented themselves were sent away without any treatment, simply because the tumours were giving little or no trouble, or they were near the menopause, where no treatment was necessary. At first we fell into the natural mistake of trying electricity on every case that presented any symptoms—in some, when the tumours were almost certainly sarcomatous, and even in one, who was in the last stage of old cardiac disease ; still we give every one of these. We know now that the cases best treated are those who are suffering much from haemorrhage—the more the better,—cases in which some- thing must be done ; cases in which, two or three years ago, the question of operation of some kind would have been considered by us. In only a single case during the last two years was hysterectomy proposed and agreed to. The patient was sent by Dr Dow of Dunfermline, was 42 years of age, and the tumour had grown for fifteen years. In spite of monthly losses and the size of the tumour—not far off from 50 lbs. in weight—she had the management of a large farm, and was able to be out of doors to look after things, summer and winter, by six o'clock in the morning, so little trouble had the huge tumour given her. Till three