Massachusetts Medical Society
Published: 2018-01-21
Total Pages: 532
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Excerpt from The Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, Vol. 37: August 1847 to February 1848 The tenth case occurred in my own practice, about a year and a half ago. The subject of it, in a drunken frolic, was thrown into deep snow, with one or two persons upon him, by which an oblique fracture of the tibia and fibula was produced. A sharp point of the tibia perforated the skin. The small wound, thus produced, healed by the first intention; though some ten days after, a moderate degree of suppuration took place over the extreme point of the bone; not, however, at the point where the skin was punctured. At the end of two months no bony callus had formed, though the patient had been kept quiet in bed. Blisters, iodine, compression, and firm dressings, constituted the subsequent mode of treat ment for five or six months. At this time the patient again returned to his old habit of intoxication; and, of course, took himself out of my hands, with a fibro-ligamentous union of the tibia. I have not seen the patient for the last two or three months, so that I cannot now Speak of the present condition of the limb.* The eleventh case is the subject of this report, whose history and result have already been given. The twelfth and last case that I can now bring to mind, is a fracture of the femur, within an inch and a half of the patella, which occurred in the first week in May last, in my absence in attendance at the late National Medical Convention. It has been in charge of one of our best physicians and surgeons; and I have aided twice or three times in dressing it. The straight position, permanent extension, long splint, compresses and roller, constituted the plan of treatment; and yet, up to this date, no bony union has taken place. It will be perceived that in the fourth, ninth and twelfth cases, there is a great similarity - all fractures of the lower part of the femur; and, in all probability, extending into the bursa, just above the patella, or into the cavity of the joint, which may have been one of the chief causes of non-union. I might have mentioned, in connection with an account of the elbow mal-practice suit (the subject of my former communication), a curious coincidence. On returning from Delaware County, last September, in company with mr.-tabor, the counsellor for the plaintiff, with mutual regrets that the suit could not have been tried, and on my part with almost a determination not to go again, a lad, about twelve years of age. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.