The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser in Plain English Part 105

While the female is pregnant, she should avoid all compression of the waist and abdomen. For this reason tight clothing, stays, or corsets must be discarded. She should also carefully regulate her diet, selecting that which is most nutritious and easily digested.

The nausea which occurs in the morning may generally be avoided by partaking of a little light food and a cup of tea or coffee before leaving the bed. If vomiting occurs, and the ejected matter be very acid, carbonate of magnesia, taken in tablespoonful doses, or some alkali with aromatics, or pulverized charcoal, which can be obtained at any drug store, will afford relief. If constipation or diarrhea be experienced, small doses of Dr. Pierce's Pellets should be employed--one or two only at a time. Want of appet.i.te, headache, or a tendency to convulsions, can be generally overcome by a persistent use of Dr.

Pierce's Favorite Prescription, which should be taken in teaspoonful doses three or four times each day. Indeed, this valuable medicine not only relieves the distressing symptoms which frequently attend the pregnant state, but also prepares the system for the ordeal of parturition (delivery). One or two bottles of this nervine and tonic used previous to confinement, will, in many cases, save hours of terrible suffering, besides regulating the system, and thus insuring a speedy recovery. We have received the heartfelt thanks of hundreds of grateful mothers for the inestimable benefit thus conferred. The Favorite Prescription is perfectly safe and harmless to use _at all times_ and under all circ.u.mstances in the doses above prescribed.

OVARIAN AND UTERINE TUMORS.

We have s.p.a.ce only to give a brief outline of the characteristics and treatment of the most frequent cla.s.ses of tumors which affect the ovaries and uterus.

OVARIAN TUMORS generally consist of one or more cysts or sacs, developed within the ovary, and filled with a fluid, or semi-fluid matter, which is formed in their interior. The cysts vary in size, in some instances being not larger than a pea, while in others they are capable of containing many quarts of fluid. In one case operated upon at the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Inst.i.tute, thirty-five pints of fluid were taken from three cysts.

The effect of ovarian tumors on the duration of life is shown by the statistics of Stafford Lee. Of 123 cases, nearly a third died within a year, more than one-half within two years from the first development of reliable symptoms, while only seventeen lived for nine years or upwards.

FIBROID TUMORS of the uterus are composed of fibrous tissue, identical in structure with that of the uterine walls. They are met with in all sizes, from that of a small shot to that of a ma.s.s capable of filling the entire cavity of the abdomen. Cases are on record in which these tumors have attained the weight of seventy pounds.

The manner in which fibroid tumors terminate life is generally by prostration and debility produced by pressure on, and consequently, interference with, the function of some one or more of the organs essential to life; or by anaemia and debility, produced by the severe hemorrhages, which the intra-uterine or sub-mucous form not infrequently induces.

POLYPI OR POLYPOID TUMORS of the uterus are of three kinds, cystic, mucous and fibrous. They vary greatly in size, sometimes being as large as a tea-cup; and their point of attachment may be extensive or consist only of a small pedicle. The cystic and mucous varieties may spring from any portion of the mucous surface of the uterus, but they are more frequently met with growing from the mucous membrane lining the cervical ca.n.a.l, and pendent from the mouth of the womb, as represented in Fig. 21 and in Fig. 26, Colored Plate IV; while the fibrous variety generally grows from the sub-mucous tissue at or near the fundus, or upper portion, of the uterus.

The most prominent symptoms of polypoid growths are hemorrhage, which is almost invariably present, leucorrhea, pain, backache, and a sense of weight and dragging in the pelvis.

The best method of treatment, and, in fact, the only effectual one, is removal with the _ecraseur_, polypus forceps, or galvano-cautery. The operation is usually attended with little or no pain.

FOR MORE THAN TWENTY-FIVE YEARS the physicians of the Invalids' Hotel and Surgical Inst.i.tute, have been successfully treating tumors by means of electricity. More recently, the medical profession has quite generally adopted electrical applications in response to the advice of Apostoli, of Paris. The plan used however is crude. It does not compare in results with the successful and safe procedure that our surgeons have invented and pursued.

Electrical treatment will destroy the life of ovarian and fibroid tumors if applied early and after the improved methods so long used at our Inst.i.tution. The destructive effect of electricity is modified by the introduction of certain electro-chemical applications so that it attacks and kills only the cells of the tumor.

THE VERY LARGE OVARIAN TUMORS, however, are not amenable to treatment by this process. The walls of their cysts become so thin and weak, while the pressure of the fluid from within is so great, that sudden and spontaneous rupture is liable to occur at any time and produce death.

Removal by a cutting operation is necessary in such cases. Fortunately this procedure, as skillfully modified and perfected by experience, has, in the hands of our surgeons, proven free from the dangers and hazard common to Ovariotomy. This is due to skillful operation and to the fact that in our Inst.i.tution the sanitary arrangements are as perfect as it is possible to make them. Everything is at hand in the way of instruments and appliances likely to be required, and the entire procedure is conducted upon the principles of perfect cleanliness and antisepsis, which obviate the risk of inflammation and blood-poisoning.

Furthermore, our nurses have had such fine training and such a vast experience in their attendance upon such cases, that wants are antic.i.p.ated, and details, that would escape those not so well qualified, are looked after so thoughtfully and vigilantly that the convalescence is rapid, as well as being in every way comfortable and safe. Under such conditions

OUR SURGEONS HAVE COMPLETED A LONG LIST OF REMOVALS OF OVARIAN TUMORS WITHOUT A SINGLE DEATH!

We are, therefore, _warranted_ in stating that

THE DANGERS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF THESE TUMORS ARE FAR GREATER THAN THE SLIGHT RISKS OF REMOVAL BY THE SKILLFUL METHODS EMPLOYED BY OUR SURGEONS.

Owing to a change made in the anaesthetic used, the painful and persistent vomiting that often follows abdominal operations is prevented. This does away with the greatest of all the dangers attendant upon the operation of Ovariotomy, and favors speedy recovery. Food, as administered in the form of artificially digested and concentrated nourishment, is readily retained. The strength is thus rapidly restored, and the healing process hastened.

It is generally supposed that the size of the opening made through the abdominal walls is large, proportionate to the size of these tumors.

This is an error. Even in the largest cystic tumors where the development is immense, a small incision only, is made--simply sufficient to bring the walls of the tumor in view and admit, perhaps, two or three fingers. The tumor is then rapidly emptied of its contents by means of a powerful suction apparatus. Adhesions, if any exist, are then carefully removed, and hemorrhage therefrom prevented; after which the large sac of the tumor, which when collapsed is like a thin bag, is readily drawn out through the small opening in the abdomen and removed.

The small pedicle or cord-like ma.s.s of vessels that supplies the tumor, are then carefully treated after a plan invented by, and peculiar to, ourselves, which effectually prevents any bleeding, and, at the same time, does not leave any irritating substance, such as burned and charred flesh, rubber, silk, or any other unabsorbable material, within the abdomen. The parts are left unbruised and without any poisonous germs in contact.

Our surgeons have met with phenomenal success in removing Ovarian Tumors, by the operation of Ovariotomy. Thus far, in a career extending over a long period of time and embracing the removal of a long list of these morbid growths, they have not had a single fatal case.

The following cases ill.u.s.trate our method of treatment in a few of the many cases that have been under our care. Each case is typical of a cla.s.s:

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 17.

The shape and position of the Tumor are shown by the dotted line.]

CASE I A married woman, aged 38. Had never given birth to a child. About four years before coming under our observation, she discovered a small bunch, as she expressed it, in the left ovarian region, which gradually increased in size until, when she consulted us, it caused considerable pain in the region of the liver from pressure, and interfered with respiration. Her general health was becoming much impaired. She stated that she had consulted a prominent gynecologist in this city, who had told her that the attachments of the tumor were so extensive that ovariotomy (removal with the knife) was out of the question, and that, therefore, he could only give her palliative treatment. This unfavorable prognosis only added mental anguish and despair to her physical suffering. On examination, we found a large multilocular cystic tumor, represented by Fig. 17, with very thick walls, extending from the left ovarian region obliquely upwards and to the right, so that it pressed more upon the short ribs on the right side than it did upon the left, but which filled the entire cavity of the abdomen. The attachments, as the doctor whom she had previously consulted had stated, were so extensive that its removal with the knife could not be thought of. We were not disposed, however, to give the case up as hopeless. We told her that we would do what we could for her, but as to what the result of our treatment would be, we could not definitely say. She placed her case in our hands, and we resorted to the above described treatment. She was treated two and three times per week for more than two months, at the end of which time, the tumor had decreased in size fully two-thirds. It has ever since remained stationary, and has given her no trouble or inconvenience whatever. It is now seven years since we treated her.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 18.

U, Uterus. B, Bladder. R, r.e.c.t.u.m. T, Tumor.]

CASE II. A young lady of 23; unmarried. About six months previous to consulting us, she had discovered a tumor of about the size of an egg, In the region of the left ovary, which had been gradually increasing in size. On examination, we found the morbid growth to be about the size of a quart bowl, and evidently composed of several cysts with thick walls.

She experienced no pain, and but slight inconvenience from its presence, but she was in great mental distress. She was an only daughter, and her mother had died a few years previously from the shock and hemorrhage resulting from an operation for the removal of a large ovarian tumor, performed by the late lamented Dr. Peaslee, of New York. The same course was pursued in this case, and at the end of six weeks' treatment, the tumor was reduced to the size of an egg, and has remained so ever since, now more than three years.

CASE III. A woman,37 years of age; married six years; no children. She had suffered for eight years from profuse menstruation and dysmenorrhea, with a membranous discharge, and, for several months before consulting us, she had experienced severe pain and a soreness in the pelvic organs.

Her bowels were obstinately constipated, it being next to impossible for her to have an evacuation, and she possessed a pale and careworn countenance. Upon examination, we discovered a hard, incompressible tumor, represented in Fig. 18, attached to the posterior wall of the uterus, which caused anteversion of the womb, and which pressed upon the r.e.c.t.u.m so as to produce great obstruction. She was treated by means of electrolysis, with injections into the substance of the growth, for one month, at the end of which she resumed home, with the tumor reduced from the size of a pint bowl to the size of an egg, and her health greatly improved. After going home the tumor continued to grow less until, at the end of a few months, her home physicians could detect no trace of it, and she has remained well since, for more than five years.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 19.

U, Uterus. T, Tumor.]

CASE IV. A lady aged 36: married 13 years; no children. She complained of severe pain in the back and a frequent desire to urinate.

Menstruation was profuse, and the bowels were constipated. On examination, we found an inter-mural fibroid tumor, represented in Figs.

19, developed in the anterior wall of the uterus, and pressing upon the bladder. The womb was enlarged, measuring three inches in depth, and was slightly anteflected. A month's treatment, with electrolysis and injections into the tumor, arrested the growth and diminished the size more than one-half, and caused the unpleasant symptoms to disappear.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 20.

U, Uterus. T, Tumor.]

CASE V. A married lady, 26 years of age; had borne no children, but had had several abortions, brought about intentionally. Six months before consulting us, a tumor, about the size of an egg, was discovered by her home physician. It grew steadily from the time of its discovery until, when we made an examination, it was found to be about the size of an ordinary tea-cup. It was developed in the posterior wall of the womb, as represented in Fig. 20. Three weeks' treatment reduced the tumor two thirds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 21.

U, Uterus. P, Polypus.]

CASE VI. A widow lady, aged 52. She was examined ten years ago by two of the most distinguished physicians of New Haven, Conn., who p.r.o.nounced her sufferings due to cancer of the uterus. She was then suffering from repeated hemorrhages, and other symptoms. They gave her palliative treatment, and told her that to interfere with the morbid growth would only shorten her life, and that by leaving it alone she might live several years. By and by the hemorrhages ceased and she pa.s.sed the change of life, but she continued to be troubled with a sensation of fullness in the pelvis, pains in the back, and frequent headaches. On examination we found not a cancer, but a large polypus, as represented in Fig. 21, which had caused all the trouble. It was quickly removed, without pain, and her health restored. Thus, through an error of diagnosis, she was made to suffer physically and mentally for ten, long years of her life, in constant dread of a horrible death.

TESTIMONIALS.

While we have a great cloud of witnesses testifying to the efficacy of our treatment of the diseases described in this volume, yet for lack of s.p.a.ce we can here introduce only the following:

LARGE FIBRO-CYSTIC TUMOR.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Miss Duke.]

p.r.o.nOUNCED INCURABLE BY MANY EMINENT SURGEONS. HEALTH RESTORED AND TUMOR REMOVED WITHOUT CUTTING.