An account of a case of calculus in the bladder removed by lithotrity : in which a communication existed between the bladder and the intestine / by Charles Hawkins.

  • Hawkins, Charles, 1812-1892.
Date:
1858
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of a case of calculus in the bladder removed by lithotrity : in which a communication existed between the bladder and the intestine / by Charles Hawkins. 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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    tite bad. His bladder was examined, and a stone readily- detected. Tbe following history of his case is in his own words : “ It was in February 1855, I first discovered a substance about two inches in length, which I had passed with my water; it had a most offensive smell. I said nothing about it, although I was passing it every day, because it gave me no pain or inconvenience, until June in the same year, when I showed some of the matter to my ordinary medical attendant, who would scarcely believe that it came with my water. He ordered me some medicine, which in no way diminished the quantity I passed. I consulted the same gentleman again in the following November, when he felt satisfied that what I passed with my water was faecal matter, and he told me that there must be an opening from the bladder into the bowel, he gave me little hope of being able to give me any relief. During the year 1856, I ceased to pass any of the substance, but early in this year the symptoms of disease of the bladder set in, and continued with great severity during the whole year. In the beginning of the year 1857, I saw two other surgeons in consultation, when an instrument was passed into the urethra, and one into the rectum at the same time. I suffered much pain from this examination, and afterwards passed blood from the rectum. These gen- tlemen came to the same conclusion as my own medical man, that an opening existed between the bladder and bowel; they both gave a most unfavorable opinion of my case, and thought that nothing could be done for my relief. It was not until I saw Sir B. Brodie and you that stone in the bladder was detected.” It was decided that, notwithstanding the history of the case, an attempt should be made to remove the stone, as the pa- tient was sinking from the mischief it was causing in the bladder. But his general health was so much impaired and the absence of continued sleep for now upwards of a year had rendered him so very nervous, that I thought it unwise to commence any operation until I had made an attempt to