On chloroform and other anæsthetics: their action and administrationSnow, John
History
On chloroform and other anæsthetics: their action and administration
Snow, John
Anesthetics; Chloroform; Snow, John, 1813-1858
voluntary movements of his arms and legs; sometimes it was necessary to
hold his hands, and at one time he appeared conscious, for he folded his
arms as if making an effort not to raise his hands to the seat of pain.
He coughed now and then, and seemed somewhat embarrassed with the blood
in his throat. He was seated in a chair, but as there was no window in
the operating theatre except the skylight, his head was obliged to be
inclined rather backwards. He was leaned forwards once or twice, to
allow him to get rid of the blood, and it appeared that he vomited some
on one of these occasions. Towards the conclusion of the operation, and
at a time when he was very little under the influence of chloroform, he
fainted. He was laid down, and brandy was given to him. No more
chloroform was administered after this time. He partially rallied from
the syncope, but again became faint. The actual cautery was applied, but
oozing of blood continued until the moment of death,—about half an hour
after his removal into another room. During this interval, he was much
exhausted; his pulse was small, and difficult to feel. He was tossing
himself about in a restless manner, but there was no difficulty of
breathing. He seemed quite conscious, doing as he was told, but, of
course, could not speak, from the nature of the operation. I left a few
minutes before the patient’s death. When he ceased to breathe,
laryngotomy was performed, and artificial respiration exercised by the
opening, with no beneficial result. In my opinion, this measure was not
indicated, but of course it could do no harm.
One of the surgeons who was present when the patient died informed me
that blood entered his windpipe from the wound, when he became moribund.
It was found during the operation that the tumour did not involve the
superior maxillary or malar bones, but was situated behind them. In his
address to the class immediately after the operation, Mr. Hewett
estimated the loss of blood at sixteen ounces. It appeared to me to be
much greater; besides that a great deal of blood would certainly be
swallowed.
After death, portions of the tumour were found still remaining attached
to the posterior and upper part of the cavity, and projecting into the
foramen lacerum of the orbit and right nostril, as well as in other
directions. The trachea and bronchi contained some frothy blood.
Numerous small dark spots of congestion were met with in the lung,
resulting from some of the small bronchi being filled with blood.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account