The Surgery of the Skull and BrainRawling, Louis Bathe
Science
The Surgery of the Skull and Brain
Rawling, Louis Bathe
Brain -- Surgery; Skull -- Surgery
When seen by me he was only partly conscious, the mental condition
varying, however, during the day. He was exceedingly irritable,
muttering to himself in a low tone, words being more or less
unintelligible. The left upper extremity was paralysed, the face drawn
to the right side, and the left lower extremity was but little used.
The pupils were equal, the disks normal. The temperature in the left
axilla was two degrees lower than on the opposite side.
The hæmatocele was exposed, cleared out, and the cavity drained.
Recovery was rapid and complete. Two years later all was well.
=Operation.= The lesion is usually of so gross a nature that little
difficulty will be experienced in determining the site for trephining.
The protective gauze and scalp-tourniquet are applied as usual (see p.
14), and a bradawl introduced through the scalp so as to indent the
external table and allow of the subsequent accurate application of the
trephine. A scalp-flap, suited to the occasion, is framed, the skull
trephined, and the disk of bone elevated and removed. The appearance of
the dura mater now allows the operator to verify his diagnosis--the
membrane is non-pulsatile, it bulges markedly outwards and presents a
blue-purple colour. The bone is then nibbled away in the downward
direction towards the lower limit of the clot, the scalp incision being
prolonged according to requirements.
In the region of the trephine-hole the dura is incised in a crucial
manner, and the four flaps held aside by catgut sutures passed through
the apex of each flap. A blunt director is introduced beneath the dura,
passing towards the lower limit of the clot, and the membrane slit up to
within a short distance of the lower margin of the gap. All meningeal
vessels that cross the line proposed for dural section must first be
underrun on either side of that line. Retraction of the dura will now
allow of adequate exposure of the underlying hæmatoma. Its removal can
be carried out with the aid of a spoon, and by means of gentle
irrigation (hot saline at a temperature between 110° and 115°
Fahrenheit). It is usually impossible to remove the whole of the
coagulum, but the greater portion can be got rid of in the manner
described.
The dura mater is approximated above by the cross-union of the four
apical sutures, whilst the downward prolongation is also sutured except
at the most dependent point, where a rubber drainage-tube is inserted
beneath the dura mater and brought out through the scalp-flap (see Fig.
56). This tube should be anchored to the dura mater with a single fine
catgut suture.
The tube should be allowed to remain in position for at least thirty-six
hours. In this the surgeon must be guided by the amount of discharge and
the general progress of the case.
=Results.= The most complete results obtained by operative treatment are
supplied by Bowen, who classifies a series of 72 cases as follows:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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