A Manual of the Operations of Surgery: For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior PractitionersBell, Joseph
Science
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery: For the Use of Senior Students, House Surgeons, and Junior Practitioners
Bell, Joseph
Surgery, Operative
"Chloroform being administered, I made an incision along the outer edge
of the sterno-mastoid muscle, through the platysma myoides and fascia of
the neck, so as to allow a finger to be pushed down to the situation
where the subclavian artery issues from under the scalenus anticus and
lies upon the first rib. I then opened the tumour, when a tremendous
gush of blood showed that the artery was not effectually compressed;
but while I plugged the aperture with my hand, Mr. Lister, who assisted
me, by a slight movement of his finger, which had been thrust deeply
under the upper edge of the tumour, and through the clots contained in
it, at length succeeded in getting command of the vessel. I then laid
the cavity freely open, and with both hands scooped out nearly seven
pounds of coagulated blood, as was ascertained by measurement. The
axillary artery appeared to have been torn across, and as the lower
orifice still bled freely, I tied it in the first instance. I next cut
through the lessor pectoral muscle close up to the clavicle, and holding
the upper end of the vessel between my finger and thumb, passed an
aneurism-needle, so as to apply a ligature about half an inch above the
orifice."[19]
In a similar operation lately performed by the author for traumatic
aneurism, the result of a stab, very little blood was lost, though no
incision was made above the clavicle. The patient made a good
recovery.[20]
LIGATURE OF BRACHIAL.--To arrest hæmorrhage from a wound of the artery
itself, no special directions are required, except to enlarge the wound,
and secure the vessel above and below the bleeding point. There are,
however, rare cases in which for bleeding in the palm (after all other
means have failed), or for aneurism lower down the arm, a ligature may
be necessary.
_Operation._--The biceps muscle, at its inner edge, is the best guide to
the position of the incision, or if it be obscured by fat or oedema, a
line extending from the axilla, just over the head of the humerus to the
middle of the bend of the elbow will define its course. An incision
(Plate I., fig. 11) three inches in length, about the middle of the arm
(when you have the choice of position), through skin and superficial
fascia, will expose the deep fascia, and probably the basilic vein.
Drawing the latter aside, cautiously divide the deep fascia. The artery
is then exposed, but in close relation to various nerves; of these the
ones most likely to come in the way are--1. The median, which lies in
front of, but a little to the outside of the artery, though in some rare
cases it lies behind it; 2. The internal cutaneous; 3. The ulnar, both
of which ought to be rather to the inside of the artery. Two brachial
veins accompany and wind round the vessel, occasionally interlacing.
Pulsation will, in the living body, usually suffice to distinguish the
artery from the other textures, and the ligature may be passed from
whichever side is most convenient.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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