On improvements recently made in the treatment of stricture of the urethra : being a supplement to A treatise on stricture and stone / by James Arnott.

  • Arnott, James Moncrieff, 1794-1885.
Date:
1856
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On improvements recently made in the treatment of stricture of the urethra : being a supplement to A treatise on stricture and stone / by James Arnott. 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.

    7/37 (page 6)
    That dilatation by the bougie and other wedge-acting instruments, which open the contracted urethra only to a certain extent, can, as respects the great majority of cases, yield more than a temporary or palliative benefit in con- firmed or permanent stricture, has not been an opinion held by any one possessing authority in the profession. Many alleged cases of cure by such means have resembled the alleged cures of cancer by excision : the disease said to be removed has never really existed ; spasmodic or temporary stricture has been mistaken for that produced by organic change. Hunter was of opinion that “ no man should rely on the cure by the bougie as lasting,” and Sir B. Brodie says that “ excepting a few cases of incipient and spasmodic stricture, whoever is desirous of continuing well must submit to the occasional use of the bougie ever afterwards.” It were fortunate if even a strict compliance with this recom- mendation would insure the future comfort and safety of the patient, but such is far from being the case. The stricture again becomes narrow, and the surgeon generally finds that his difficulty has increased with every successive renewal of the task of dilating it. “ The disease (to use the words of Mr Syme) too fre- quently maintains its hold during life—becoming more troublesome and less manageable as age advances, so as at length to destroy all comfort by day or night—exhaust the patient’s strength—and finally put a period to his existence, after a long struggle between contraction and dilatation.” But, very frequently, other disease, no less distressing and