Page 79 - An essay on the diseasesof the jaws, and their treatment

DISEASES OF THE JAWS. 57 first been made, and more especially, as no increased difficulty or danger need be apprehended from the' temporary delay which would thus be occasioned. In conclusion, I beg to remark, that although it is my opinion that the important diseases in ques- tion admit generally of a more simple cure, I am far from wishing to detract from the great merits of those gentlemen who have recommended and undertaken the operation in question, which, although it was never performed by men of talent inferior to that possessed by Messrs. Dupuytren, Cloquet, Lallemand, GraefF, Mott, Mc.Lellan, Cusack, Crampton, Wardrop, and Hodgson, it must be confessed, is always to be regarded as one of the most precarious and appalling character. The following highly complicated cases are particularly illus- trative of the pathology and treatment of these diseases, and these, in conclusion, I beg to subjoin to this Essay. CASE IV. Mr. S f of , a gentleman of about fifty-five years of age, of a very robust and plethoric constitution, and constant active habits of life, gave the following statement of his case. His health had been generally good, but during the last six years he had sometimes suffered from swclHngs of the face, ac- companied by an erysipelatous appearance, and heat of the skin, as well as obtuse pain, particularly situated in the nose, and its surrounding parts. About eighteen months previously to his coming to town he discovered a small excrescence in his nose, followed by a consi- derable discharge of greenish foetid matter. His surgical atten- dant removed the tumour with the forceps, assisted by the appli- cation of lunar caustic, but without effecting a permanent cure. The disease continued after a variety of surgical treatment, and its repeated extirpation was uniformly followed by returns of the excrescence. The general health of the patient becoming evidently affected, he was urgently advised by his physician and surgeon to visit London, in order to avail himself of the professional talents