On the causes of death after amputation / by Thomas Bryant ; communicated by John Birkett.

  • Bryant, Thomas, 1828-1914.
Date:
1859
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On the causes of death after amputation / by Thomas Bryant ; communicated by John Birkett. 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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    Primary Amputations. 1. That 43 per cent, are fatal; 60 per cent, of the lower extremity, and 30 per cent, of the upper. 2. That primary amputations are more successful than secondary. 3. That pyaemia is the cause of death in 43 per cent, of the fatal cases, and in 16 per cent, of the whole number; and that, when fatal, the symptoms appear, as a rule, between the seventh and fourteenth days after the operation, and cause death in the third or fourth week, and not during the first two weeks, as in pathological amputations and those of expediency. 4. That exhaustion is the cause of death in 32 per cent, of the fatal cases, and in 12 per cent, of the whole number. 5. That traumatic complications prove fatal in 15 percent, of the fatal cases; and secondary haemorrhage, cerebral or thoracic complications, in about 7 per cent, each; renal disease proving a cause of death in 3 5 per cent. Secondary Amputations. 1. That 50 per cent, are fatal; 68 per cent, of the lower extremity, and 12'5 per cent, of the upper. 2. That secondary amputations are more fatal than primary by about 8 per cent. 3. That exhaustion is the chief cause of death, proving the cause in 60 per cent, of the fatal cases. 4. That pyaemia is the cause in 25 per cent, of the fatal cases; secondary haemorrhage and hectic in the remaining 15 per cent. Conclusions upon Pyalmia as a Cause of Death. 1. That it is the cause of death in 42 per cent, of all fatal cases of amputation, and in 10 per cent, of all amputations.