By C. C. Smink, '09,
Senior Medical Student.
In selecting a case I have not taken one that is a surgical curiosity, or at all an unusual one, but I have taken this because it is just in these cases that a doubt sometimes exists as to the treatment when diagnosed, and often the condition of the appendix and surrounding peritoneum is in doubt, even if a diagnosis of trouble originating in the appendix is made.
History of Case--Patient, a boy, L. W., age 9 years, schoolboy; admitted December 26, 1908, with a diagnosis of appendicitis.
Family History--Parents well; one brother died in infancy, cause unknown; two brothers living and well; only history of any family disease is tuberculosis in one uncle; no rheumatism, syphilis, gout, haemophilia or other disease bearing on the case.
Past History--Measles at 5 years, with uneventful recovery; whooping-cough at 6, no complications; badly burned two years ago; has had "indigestion" (?) since he was 3 years old; pain but no tenderness during these attacks; treated by different physicians and got better for a time; no history of scarlet fever, influenza, pneumonia, typhoid or other disease of childhood.
Habits--A normal child.
Present Illness--On 20th of December, 1908, patient came home from church complaining of pains in the right side. This was Sunday. Next day he complained of severe pain all over abdomen, but on Tuesday these became localized in the right lower quadrant of the abdomen. Had some fever. Bowels constipated. No nausea or vomiting. There was a localized tenderness in the right lower quadrant from the start. Pains got better on Friday, but temperature and pulse still stayed up, and patient came into hospital on Saturday, December 26. The unusual feature was that there was no nausea or vomiting. It is also to be noted that the pain subsided suddenly on the 24th. The child entered hospital on the 26th, and on entrance the whole right side was rigid, while the left side was comparatively soft. A lump could be felt in the appendical region, the centre of which was above McBurney's point. Temperature was 99 and pulse 78. The leucocyte count, however, was 30,200; urine negative.
Child was put to bed; an ice cap placed on the abdomen. Liquid diet. The next day, December 27th, leucocytes stood at 35,200. Temperature unchanged, but the pulse had risen to 110 beats. A hypodermic of morphine and atropine was given, and patient taken to the operating room, anesthetized, and abdomen cleaned for an aseptic (if possible) operation.
Prof. Winslow made an incision in the abdominal wall, well out toward the crest of the ilium, using the gridiron incision. The caecum was found and pulled over toward the middle line, and in looking for the appendix, which was supposed to be behind the caecum, a great quantity of pus was found. This nasty smelling, grayish pus welled up into the wound and was sponged away. Several pieces of mucous membrane and presumably the tip of the appendix were found in the pus. Also several faecal secretions. The pus was sponged away and carefully a search was made for the appendix, or rather what remained of it. It was found tied down by adhesions and dissected loose. It broke away in pieces, and it was unnecessary to ligate any of the arteries of the meso appendix. The stump of the appendix close to the caecum was crushed, cauterized and ligated. No attempt was made to invert it, as the tissues would not stand it. The pus cavity was found to extend up behind the caecum and over toward the median line for some distance. The puncture, which I will refer to later, was then made in the right lumbar region, and two cigarette drains were introduced extending clear back into the bottom of the abscess cavity. Then a gauze drain was introduced into the anterior wound, and this sutured up. The wound was then dressed and the patient taken to the ward. Recovery from anesthetic without ill effects.