Journal of Orificial Surgery (Volume 3) (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: tions only, carcinoma uteri and myofibroma. A little later prociden- tia uteri was added to the list. This operation, however, should not be performed until the woman is clearly made to understand that in a certain proportion of cases it becomes necessary to do a plastic operation upon the vagina to finish the cure. Now, and for two years past, I have removed the uterus many times where the tubes and ovaries were so diseased that their ablation became necessary. With the increased ease and safety of hysterectomy I am convinced that it is not only better to remove the hopelessly diseased appendages but the unhealthy and retroposed uterus as well. This has proven so satisfactory that I find the number of cases for ventrofixation and other operations to hold the uterus in place have not increased, while extirpation of the organ, and its appendages when necessary, is more frequently performed than formerly. Since October first, 1893, up to the present time, June first, 1894, a period of eight months, I have removed the uterus for all causes thirty-four times. In every instance the patients have recovered without fever or any bad symptoms, except in one case phlebitis developed which kept her in bed ten days longer than usual. 1 have sought to leave behind healthy ovaries where this was possible and, in cases where the substance of the organs was degenerated, I have invariably endeavored to leave a sufficient amount of ovarian tissue intact to insure the future existence of a normal vagina and external geni- talia. I am so thoroughly convinced that we will get better results by making primary vaginal hysterectomies in these cases, provided proper care is observed in their selection, that I offer no excuse for taking this radical ground although 1 expect to be sharply criticized. ...