Memoir on the radical cure of stuttering, by a surgical operation / by J.F. Dieffenbach ; translated from the German, by Joseph Travers.

  • Dieffenbach, Johann Friedrich, 1792-1847.
Date:
1841
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Memoir on the radical cure of stuttering, by a surgical operation / by J.F. Dieffenbach ; translated from the German, by Joseph Travers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    method than of the two preceding, as here some shortening of the tongue must necessarily ensue ; and forasmuch as the base of the wedge-shaped slice is made from the dorsum of the tongue, elevation of the tip must take place. This method, then, mecha- nically assists that organ to assume the position insisted on by those teachers who have been most successful in ameliorating this defect. Still, as it inflicts a more severe wound than the simple division of the tongue, either with or without division of its mucous covering, I felt it imperative on me to put these apparently more simple operations also to the proof. The apparatus requisite is very simple :— A pair of Miizeux forcep-hooks ; An ordinary hare-Hp forceps, with teeth; Two retracting hooks, with a handle for the cor- ners of the mouth ; A narrow and much-curved sharp-pointed bistoury; curved strong needles, with thick ligatures of four- fold silk ; and a pair of needle-pliers. For the sake of brevity I will relate the method of operating, together with the other particulars of each case. The first operation, I performed on the 7th of Jan- uary, 1841. I chose for this case the method by which a wedge-shaped portion is removed from the posterior part of the tongue ; for, as I have remarked, I felt more confidence in this than in the other me- thods.