Surgical emergencies : together with the emergencies attendant on parturition and the treatment of poisoning : a manual for the use of general practitioners / by William Paul Swain.

  • Swain, William Paul.
Date:
1874
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Surgical emergencies : together with the emergencies attendant on parturition and the treatment of poisoning : a manual for the use of general practitioners / by William Paul Swain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

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    body from the wound. The vessel is tied in the usual way, but the ends of the catgut are cut off near the knot. The catgut may be conveniently carried in the pocket case in one of Mr. Lister^s catgut-holders. As the right preparation of the catgut is a matter of very great importance^ it is best to obtain it ready prepared along with the other antiseptic materials. As metallic sutures are liable to catch in the Carbolized dressings^ carbolized silk sutures are used with advantage. They are prepared by passing ordi- nary ligature silk through melted beeswax, con- taining ten per cent, of carbolic acid. The superfluous wax is wdped off from the warm thread as it is drawn out from the mixture. The antiseptic property of the silk is conve- niently retained by keeping it wrapped in anti- septic gauze. Directions for special cases :— I. Abscess. This is the simplest case for antiseptic treat- ment, the antiseptic not being applied at all to the affected tissues, but merely used to prevent the access of septic mischief from without. Carefully select the spot for incision with special attention to its distance from a source of putrefaction,^ so that the dressing may extend * So important is this that it might lead to the refusal to operate—e.g. in a case of spinal abscess pointing near the anus.