Abdominal injuries without external evidence / by George I. Miller.

  • Miller, George I.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Abdominal injuries without external evidence / by George I. Miller. 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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    ABDOMINAL INJURIES WITHOUT EXTERNAL EVIDENCE.* BY GEORGE I. MILLER, M.D. Instructor in Operative Surgery, New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital; Surgeon to St. Mark’s and People’s Hospitals, New York; Jewish Hospital, Brooklyn. The difficulties in diagnosticating obscure intra-abdominal lesions are many and varied, especially so when pathological processes within fail to produce symptoms which would act as a guide to the medical men. How difficult and almost im- possible is it do diagnosticate a rare intra-abdominal injury produced by traumatism without the least external evidence of existing or pending trouble. Considering the number of important viscera liable to injury and the obscurity of symp- toms pointing thereto, one must not hesitate, but explore the abdomen before so-called palpable symptoms appear which indicate grave internal lesions. On May 3, 1909, I was called by Dr. J. Slavit to see his pa- tient. On arriving at the house of the patient, the following history was elicited: Henry M. 7 yrs. of age, and an intelligent school boy, states himself what happened to him about five hours before my arrival. He was always healthy, except that he had measles the year before. Never had an accident until this time. At about four o’clock in the afternoon while crossing the street he was run over by a wagon. At first the horse stepped on his feet, which made him fall to the ground, then the front wheel of the right side of the wagon passed over his abdomen; he then rolled over and was lying with face down when the rear wheel passed over his back. The patient’s statement was corroborated by several eye witnesses. He was picked up by some man who carried him into his father’s store around the corner. From thore he was soon after * Read before the Surgical Society of Brooklyn, N. Y., October 7, 1909, and before the New York Post-Graduate Clinical Society, October 15, 1909. •J Reprinted from the POST-GRADUATE for December, 1909.