Large pendulous tumor from the cheek, of many years growth, in a gentleman advanced in years, removed by operation / by E.L. Hussey.

  • Hussey, E. L. (Edward Law)
Date:
[1877]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Large pendulous tumor from the cheek, of many years growth, in a gentleman advanced in years, removed by operation / by E.L. Hussey. 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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    on the shoulder, as he sat in a chair for examination. There was not any fluctuation perceptible in it. That the Tumor could be removed, was perfectly clear : the only question being that of the loss of blood likely to attend an operation ; and this, in a man of the Patient’s age, was a matter for the most serious consideration. As the Tumor was not a part of the proper system, but rather a foreign body causing irritation, I did not think the shock of an operation for the removal likely to be a source of danger, except as it arose from the loss of blood at the time of operation. To control this, it would be necessary to secure the vessels in the pedicle as they passed to supply the circulation in the Tumor, or its capsule, before proceeding to separate the Tumor from its coverings. This could be done by dividing the pedicle with the first incisions, and taking up the vessels separately, — trusting an Assistant to restrain the hemorrhage while the ligatures were being applied. A better way, I thought, would be by putting a ligature round the whole of the root, so as to include all the structures, after dividing the common integument to a sufficient extent to reach the parts. I thought that the pedicle could be laid bare sufficiently, without much dissection, and without any great loss of blood; and that if I could get my finger underneath, it would serve as a director on which a strong thread could be guided by means of a short probe: or, if the parts were too much matted together to be separated easily, that a thread could be carried round the vessels by an aneurism needle having a large curve. At all events, a strong needle could be thrust through; and if the sharp point and cutting edge were ground off, the needle could be passed without danger to any important part. On the 28th of June Mr. Prescott Hewett saw the