Correspondence concerning a fatal case of placenta proevia / prepared by Charles E. Buckingham and printed for the benefit of the profession ; republished with an appendix by D. Barnard.

  • Buckingham, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1821-1877.
Date:
1870
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Correspondence concerning a fatal case of placenta proevia / prepared by Charles E. Buckingham and printed for the benefit of the profession ; republished with an appendix by D. Barnard. 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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    having been called by Dr. Buckingham to assist in adminis- tering ether. While Dr. Buckingham sat by the window writing, after the birth of the child, he assured me, my wife was '■■as safe as any woman Shortly after this assurance, she complained of being cold. Uneof the ladies present said, Shall I place another cover- ing on the bed ? to which B;r. Buckingham replied, No- body will catch cold here ! Subsequent to this, she said, lam flowing now I to which Dr. Buckingham paid no attention, further than to raise his head and look toward the patient, and then turn back to his writing. I said in my anxiety, Why ! Did the Doctor hear her? Yes he turned his head and looked at her, was the reply. In about three or four minutes more, she called again, 0/ lam flowing dreadfullyV At this point, Dr Buckingham very moderately put up his writing, came to the bedside and called for a basin. A com- mon wash bowl was brought and filled twice with clotted blood, and the haemorrhage was not checked, but continued till she died—a large number of napkins and other cloths being used to receive the blood. No cold applications were made. Ice was not called for, though there was an abundance of it in the house. I did not see him introduce his arm into the uterus or know of his doing so, although I was present and near him all the time. I did not see him compress the uterus even after his re- turn to the bedside. He did not at any time' express or indicate any alarm or anxiety to me, and after my wife had breathed her last, left the house without speaking to me. A few minutes before her death, Mrs. Barnard, in a faint tone, remarked that the voice of the child, who was crying at the time, sounded hoarse. Dr. Buckingham, after asking her what she had said—causing her to repeat the remark, an-