Vol. 60, 1909 - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

ORIGINAL COMMUNICATIONS. 377
no occasion did the temperature rise above Summary.—The greater actual frequency
100 I- The stools were regular, . percentage of ectopic pregnacy than the number of ob-
Df hemoglobin about normal. As the pa- served cases would lead us to believe—
tienl was quite comfortable when in a sit- The usual irrevelant and typical nature
ting or lying position and as she was quite of the symptoms. The difficulties in the
desirous of prolonging the pregnancy I de- way of making a diagnosis and neccessitv
jided to keep her under observation for a for a careful study of the cases, in which
time. Seven days passed without a particu- this condition might be susy^-cted both in
lar event, although the patient suffered some this present and past aspect.^. The importand
wasoccasionally nauseated. The even- ance of studying the character of the utermg
ot the seventh day the patient had a ine discharges. The association of this
very severe pam in the abdomen but did with pelvic pain and discomfort and the
not mention it for fear of having to undergo signs of pregnancy.
an operation. The next morning about The advantage of prompt operation, re-
7:30 trouble began. The abdominal pain moval of blood and other debris by dry
was agonizing, the symptoms of haemor- sponging without irrigation, thorough herbage
were typical and severe in character, mostasis and the closure of wound without
The radical pulse became almost impercep- drainage.
tible. Adrenalin in saline solution was ad- The "principles enunciated above have
ministered every fifteen minutes hypoder- been followed in more than a dozen cases
matically— 7.SII c.c. of saline solution was of ectopic gestation without a single death.
administered by Iiypodermoclysis. The patient
was prepared for operation which was The Russianizing of the American Medbeguii
at S o'clock a. m. At this time the ical Profession—My Contentions
pulse was running from l.SO to IGOpermiii-
Proven.
ute, respirations 4S to .S4 per minute. An- By G. Frank Lydston, JI, D., Professor of Geuito-
Dther 7.S0 C.C. of saline was administered
during the operation which lasted for .It
Trinary Surgery in the Illinois State University,
*^"'^"^^' Department, Chicago,
tninhtes. Operation .Median laparotomy. The entire profession is aware of the bat-
The fetus, its cyst wall and the placenta tie I have been waging against the political
were removed as rapidly as possible. The despotism which now controls the A. M. A.
;ilacenta had been ruptured and there was The independent journals and the inde-
,1 great deal of free blood in the abdominal pendent medical societies are our only retavity.
Some of it clotted, indicating pre- course in the battle for liberty and reform,
[k'ious hemorrhage. The tubal attachments In furtherance of the reform movement, I
ii the pregnancy were slight indicating submitted a paper to the Mississippi Valley
ther a primary abdominal pregnancy or an Medical Association. In this paper I en-
;arly rupture of the tube. The placental deavored to prove that something was rotten
inplantatioii was extensive including right in the medical Denmark, and tiiat Amerilua
left pelvic walls, rectum, posterior sur- can medicine is ruled by a selfish and desace
and fundus of uterus, omentum coils potic political ring which gives the rights
)f small intestine, sigmoid colon, bladder of the membership at large not the slightest
ind parietal peritoneum of the abdominal consideration. Fair play, I claimed, was
.vail. Injuries to bowel were repaired and a word unknown to the vocabulary of the
.lenuded areas covered so far as practica- medical Czar and his minions. My paper
,)le. The blood was removed hy dry spoiig- was put on the preliminary program. Later,
'ng and the wound of the abdominal parietes the Program Committee objected to it on
rlosed by layer sutures of chronic gut with- the ground that "The Russianizing of The
•)ut drainage. The fetal development would Profession" probably was an attack on the
iidicate that tlie twenty-second or twenty- sacrosanct powers of the A. M. A. (How
;hird week of growth had been attained, did they ever guess it?) The committee
iPhe fetus was ten inches in length and demanded a copy or abstract of my paper,
veighed one pound and two ounces. The This I refused to submit to them, stating,
ord was twelve inches in length. As the however, that my paper was "as strenuous
)lacenta was removed piecemeal, it was an attack as I knew how to make on prinlifficnlt
to get a correct estimate of its size ciple, on the political ring which controlled
fUd weight. . the A. M. A."
I Another hypodermoclysis of saline solu- The paper was put on the permanent proion
was administered. The pulse gradu- gram—No. ,"^0, next to the last paper on
lly fell to one hundred and twenty that the last day of the meeting. Its rightful
ftemoon. Improvement was rapid and place was No. 17, on the afternoon of the
onvalescence without noteworthy event, second day. Having put the paper on the
atient left the hospital on the thirteenth program, no committee had a legal right to
ay ajter the operation well. exclude it. This is obvious to any one who