Page 61 - An essay on the diseasesof the jaws, and their treatment

: DISEASES OP THE JAWS. 39 times be found to enter the nose and even the orbit of the eye, and by their gradual increase the cheeks become very much swollen as well as all the parts involved, great deformities of the face, dis- tortions of the nose, the eyes, and other parts being the necessary consequences. Sometimes they will project into the nostrils and through the sockets of the eyes, actually dislodging the eye ball, which then protrudes in a most disgusting and hideous manner. In the under jaw these tumours are often of a spongy or osteo- sarcomatous nature, and particularly disposed to extend to an immense size ; sometimes they are accompanied by the formation of polypi in the ears, and discharges of matter from these organs. Notwithstanding their very formidable appearance, however, these diseases are neither more dangerous, nor less tractable under pro- per treatment, than those of the upper jaw. If, however, under all these various comphcations, these ma- ladies are not properly treated and completely arrested in their progress, they are liable to become cancerous, and thus terminate fatally; or by gradually weakening the constitution, and predis- posing it to the influence of other diseases, eventually assist in destroying the unhappy victim. See " Fox's Natural History and Diseases of the Teeth," Plate vi, vii, and x. [No. 81 of the Appendix.] The following case of Osteo-sarcoma of the lower jaw, taken from the " Lancet," is exceedingly illustrative of the statements I have made, and must be deemed highly interesting CASE 11. " William Cooper, aged 50, a vigorous and healthy looking man, states that about twenty years ago he had one of the molar treatment by extirpation, is not attended by any of those effects, such as shock and the more permanent impression made on the vital powers by the process of extensive cicatrization, which, of necessity, immediately follow an operation like excision of the jaws, and demand calculation on the part of the surgeon. It will generally be found that the farther these tumours are removed in structure from that of healthy bone, the more liable are they to take on malignant action. The symptom which first attracts the attention of the patient is usually a slight swelling of the gum, sometimes compared to the cutting of a Avisdom tooth, and generally regarded as an affection of the gum only, though in reality arising from a morbid condition of the alveolar ridge. In this early form, the disease, when seated in the front part of the mouth, is often described under the term Epulis, as a peculiar affection.