Treatment.—The general treatment of the cases demanded nothing special to military surgery, except in so far as it was modified by the disadvantage to the patient of necessarily having to be transported, often for some distance. The ill effects of this, particularly in cases of hæmorrhage, are obvious, but in so far as fracture was concerned the question of transport did not acquire the importance that it does in civil practice, since the nature of the fractures and their strict localisation did not render movement either painful or particularly hurtful. It was indeed striking how little pain movement, made for the purposes of examination, caused these patients. The treatment of bed-sores, cystitis, or other secondary complications possessed no special features.
The importance of insuring rest in the early stages of the cases of hæmorrhage is self-evident; hence, if the possibility exists of not moving the patient, its advantage cannot be too strongly insisted upon. Again, if transport is inevitable, the shorter distance that can be arranged for the better. It should be borne in mind, also, that from the peculiar nature of causation of the injuries, stretcher or wagon transport for short distances is preferable to the vibratory movements of a long railway journey. Beyond this the administration of opium, and in some cases the assumption of the prone position, are both useful in the recent or possibly progressive stage of hæmorrhage.
Lastly, as to active surgical treatment by operation. In no form of spinal injury is this less often indicated, or less likely to be useful. It is useless in the cases of severe concussion, contusion, or medullary hæmorrhage which form such a very large proportion of those exhibiting total tranverse lesion, and equally unsuited to cases of partial lesion of the same character. Extra-medullary hæmorrhage can rarely be extensive enough to produce signs calling for the mechanical relief of pressure; the section of the cord cannot be remedied. In one case with signs of total transverse lesion, in which a laminectomy was performed, no apparent lesion was discovered, and this would frequently be the case, since the damage is parenchymatous. The experience was indeed exactly comparable to that which followed early exposure of the peripheral nerves.
Only three indications for operation exist. 1. Excessive pain in the area of the body above the paralysed segment; operation is here of doubtful practical use, except in so far as it relieves the immediate sufferings of the patient.
2. An incomplete or recovering lesion, when such is accompanied by evidence furnished by the position of the wounds, pain, and signs of irritation of pressure from without, or possibly palpable displacement of parts of the vertebra, that the spinal canal is encroached upon by fragments of bone.
3. Retention of the bullet, accompanied by similar signs to those detailed under 2.
In both the latter cases the aid of the X-rays should be invoked before resorting to exploration.
Operation, if decided upon, in either of the two latter circumstances, may be performed at any date up to six weeks; but if pressure be the actual source of trouble, it is obvious that the more promptly operation is undertaken the better for early relief and ulterior prognostic chances.
In only one case of the whole series I observed did it seem possible to regret the omission of an exploration.