Complete Record - Heirs of Hippocrates No. 1863

HENRY JACOB BIGELOW (1818-1890) Lithotrity by a single operation. (In American journal of the medical sciences. Vol. 75 (1878), pp. 117-134.) 22.1 cm.

For more information on this author or work, see number: 1859

In this well-illustrated article, Bigelow introduced the operation of litholapaxy. After acknowledging the work of other surgeons, he described his operative technique in detail and advised sedating the patient with ether for the procedure. He explained how to fill the patient's bladder with fluid, crush the stone, and then flush out the fragments. Bigelow described his evacuating instruments which incorporated some special design elements to facilitate capture of the crushed stone. He also modified the ends of the lithotrite to improve their usefulness by fenestrating each half for better mating and by increasing their strength.

Cited references: Garrison-Morton 4292