New York Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (Volume 2)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1894 edition. Excerpt: ...to the technique of the procedure. To wash out a uterus properly, the patient should be placed on a table, in a good light, with assistants to hold her legs and to handle the instruments. The results to be attained are worth the effort to do it thoroughly. It should therefore be done as systematically and with the same preparations that any operation on the cervix or peri-naeum would demand. By placing the patient in the lithotomy position and by bringing the cervix into view with some form of speculum or double retractors, and grasped and steadied by a single or double tenaculum, the patient is subjected to less pain, the parts can be better inspected, the tube and curette can be more easily passed, the return flow of the douche from the uterine cavity is favored, the debris from curetting is more thoroughly removed, the time required is shorter, and consequently less tiresome for the patient, it is easier for the operator, and in every way more effectual. It matters little what the irrigating solution is so long as it is itself aseptic. Care must be taken in using corrosive-sublimate solutions, especially in blonde women, who are very susceptible to its toxic effects. A curved, hard-rubber intra-uterine tube possesses advantages over tubes made from any other material, because it can be sterilized by boiling, it is not breakable, and the curve can be changed to suit each case by immersion in boiling water. I believe that intra-uterine irrigation alone has disappointed many able practitioners for some of the reasons embodied in this paper. As one of the steps in the treatment of sepsis of intra-uterine origin, nothing can take its place. I think that the experience of those who see many of these cases in consultation will coincide with this...