Politzer's text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs : for students and practitioners / translated by Oscar Dodd ; edited by Sir William Dalby.

  • Politzer, Adam, 1835-1920.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Politzer's text-book of the diseases of the ear and adjacent organs : for students and practitioners / translated by Oscar Dodd ; edited by Sir William Dalby. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    favourable only at the beginning of the affection in the slighter forms and in otherwise strong individuals ; on the other hand, it is unfavourable in cachectic individuals, with the formation of granu- lations, polypi, caries, and total deafness. With energetic general treatment I have repeatedly seen healing occur even in severe cases. The treatment of the local disease is entirely antiseptic, and the alcohol or aqueous solution of corrosive sublimate, as recommended by Bürkner, serves a very good purpose. That this, as in other syphilitic ear affections, must give place to a general treatment of the symptoms need not be mentioned. Treatment of Chronic Middle-ear Suppuration.—The treatment of chronic suppurative inflammation of the middle ear is in the first place determined by the local changes in the ear. It is essentially •different in those forms in which the suppuration is associated with a simple infiltration and tumefaction of the mucous membrane, from that employed in forms in which granulations and polypoid pro- liferations in the tympanum and on the remnant of the membrana tympani and in the external meatus have been already developed, or when cholesteatomata have formed in the middle ear. The method of treatment frequently undergoes various modifications according to the quality and quantity of the secretion, the place and size of the perforation in the membrana tympani, the secondary changes in the external meatus, and, what must be particularly insisted on, the state of the general health at the time, as will be seen from the following account of the treatment of chronic suppuration of the middle ear in its different stages and conditions. The first duty in the local treatment of chronic suppuration of the middle ear consists in the removal of the inflammatory infiltration of the mucous membrane, and in the arrest of the muco-purulent secretion. One of the most important conditions for the cure of chronic otorrhcea is the thorough cleansing of the middle ear from the masses of secretion, because, on account of its irregular pitted structure, these masses easily become stagnant, and becoming in- fected through the air may develop sepsis, and produce ulceration of the mucous membrane and of the bone. In order to completely remove the secretion from the middle ear it must be forced into the meatus by means of a current of air through the tube. The method of the author is suitable in most cases, and the catheter is only necessary if there is too much resistance in the tube on account of excessive swelling, granulations, polypi, or desquamative products in the middle ear and meatus. By means of the air-douche very often the secretion is only forced out of the anterior portion of the tympanic cavity, while the pus