Case of elongation of the under jaw, and distortion of the face and neck, caused by a burn, successfully treated / by Dr. S. P. Hullihen, of Wheeling, Va.

  • Hullihen, S. P. (Simon P.), 1810-1857.
Date:
1849
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Case of elongation of the under jaw, and distortion of the face and neck, caused by a burn, successfully treated / by Dr. S. P. Hullihen, of Wheeling, Va. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    6th.—Dressing removed; the flap is uniting by the first intention, along both sides, throughout its entire extent; the greater part of the pins and stitches removed. 7th.—The remainder of the pins and stitches removed ; pa- tient perfectly comfortable and cheerful. 10th.—Sat up all day by the window. 15th.—Walked out to take an airing. During the whole progress of the cure there was not the slightest swelling or undue inflammation in the flap or about the neck. The patient was slightly hysterical the first few days, but never complained of any thing except pain on the shoulder, a slight head-ache of a few hours' duration, and the uneasiness occasioned by the retention of urine. The wound on the shoulder granulated rapidly, and skinned over in about six weeks after the operation. It was curious to observe that upon touching the flap after it had healed in the neck, the pa- tient would always refer the sensation to the shoulder or arm from which the flap was taken. The confinement of the head and distortion of the face occa- sioned by the strictures, being now removed., the next step was to relieve, as far as possible, a very great deformity of the under lip. The under lip, from being dragged down and greatly stretched by the former projection of the under jaw, was rendered greatly too large—so much so that it pouted out an inch or more fur- ther than the upper lip. This, together with a turning out of the mucous membrane on the left side, which extended nearly down to the lower edge of the chin, making the lip too short on that side, was the nature of the deformity yet to be relieved. To relieve this unseemly appearance of the lip, the inverted portion was cut out in a V shape, extending down to the flap in the neck, and sufficiently large to reduce the lip to the proper size. The edges were then brought together and secured after