Part 5 (1/2)

This is sometimes referred to as 'navel delivery', and of this several examples have been recorded. In one such case a ftus was extracted by a butcher: the woman recovered, and the account of this remarkable case ends thus: 'She had a navel rupture, owing to the ignorance of the man in not applying a proper bandage' (_Phil. Trans._, Abridged Edition, 1805, vol. viii, p. 517). This is a good instance of professional bias in the apportioning of blame.

Usually, when pathogenic micro-organisms gain access to the gestation-sac the ftus decomposes, and fistulae form, by which pus, accompanied by fragments of ftal tissue and bones, finds an exit and affords evidence of the nature of the case. These fistulae may open into the r.e.c.t.u.m, bladder, v.a.g.i.n.a, uterus, or some spot on the anterior abdominal wall below or near the umbilicus. The treatment is simple, and consists in dilating the sinus and extracting all the fragments. If this be thoroughly carried out the sinus quickly closes. Partial operations are useless: if but a bit of a bone remain, a troublesome sinus will persist. It is bad practice to attempt to extirpate the sac in such condition; such an operation usually terminates fatally.

In a case of old-standing lithopaedion it is unusual to find any trace of the placenta. J. W. Smith operated on a woman in whom a lithopaedion had caused intestinal obstruction. The ftus had probably been retained 15-1/2 years, and the placenta was represented by a calcified encapsuled ball, with an average diameter of 6 cm.

=Results of operative treatment.= In order to afford some notion of the risks attending the surgical treatment of extra-uterine gestation, as well as to give an idea of its relative frequency in hospital practice, the following figures will serve. From 1896 to 1907, both years inclusive, 116 operations were performed for extra-uterine gestation in the Chelsea Hospital for Women. During this period all the varieties of tubal pregnancy were encountered (ampullary, isthmial, tubo-uterine), including the rare condition of a full-time living ftus free among the intestines, and the more uncommon condition of a full-time cornual pregnancy. There were four deaths in the series, one in 1897, 1902, and two in 1905. Death in the fatal cases was attributed to pulmonary embolism, peritonitis, and in two to heart failure.

A TABLE SHOWING CASES OF CONCURRENT INTRA- AND EXTRA-UTERINE PREGNANCY (COMPOUND PREGNANCY) RUNNING TO TERM, WITH THE FATE OF THE MOTHER AND CHILDREN.

+-----------+-------+---------+--------------+--------------+

_Recorder._

_Year._

_Fate of

_Intra-uterine

_Extra-uterine

Mother._

Child._

Child._

+-----------+-------+---------+--------------+--------------+

Cooke

1863

Died

Died

Died

Sale

1871

Died

Lived

Lived

Wilson

1880

Died

Died

Lived

Galabin

1881

Died

Died

Died

Franklin

1893

Died

Lived

Died

Matthewson

1894

Lived

Lived

Killed[1]

Ludwig

1896

Lived

Lived

Lived

Allardice

1905

Lived