827NEW SURGICAL OPERATION.

spells of full vomiting, in the interim ofwhich, I examined my pulse, and foundit forty-five to the minute. About a

quart of flnids, together with the powderand some- bilious matter, were thrown off.I felt the stimulus of it passing onwardinto the intestines, and judged that itwould also prove cathartic; which it didon the following morning, in a gentleway, without any griping, and kept thebowels in a soluble condition for a day ortwo. While nnder its immediate effectsI noticed a very considerable increasedsecretion of mucus and saliva from themouth and fauces, which kept me con-Mantly spitting, and also an augmenta-tion in the secretion of urine. Upon thewhole, relative to its operation, althoughit produced a very great diminution inthe frequency of the pulse, yet it occa-sioned none of that death-like prostrationI have aways experienced on taking thetartar emetic ; and although its bittersub-acrid taste is very persistent in thefauces, yet I think it no more disagreea-b1E to take than the ipecacuanha, whileat the same time it operates as effectuallyas either. It will, however, perhaps, beobjected to on account of the tardiness ofits operation : on this score it requiresfurther trial, and in larger doses, beforedeteimirring. Relative to myself, I canremark, however, that I have been

obliged to take as many as sixty grains ofipecacuanha, with a less speedy, and lessefficient operation than I experiencedfrom this potion. I never to my recol-lection took an emetic that had so tran-

quillising an effect, operated so ftilly, andat the same time produced so little de-

hiiity. Its operation in my case wouldat least suggest an inquiry into its pro-perties, whether it may not unite an

anodyne principle with its emetic qua-lities ? "

The properties of the apocynum so

nearly resemble those of ipecacuanha,that we do not think it necessary to quotefrom the other cases which the author

has related. " It is inferior to ipecacuan-ha," says Dr. Ives, an American, " re-quires larger doses, and is not so much ofa diaphoretic." There is a case of ascites,however, in which" Its effect was that of a hydrogogue

cathartic, producing as many as fortycopious watery stouls, in twenty-fearhours. I also occasioned great sicknessand vomiting. The system was soon

relieved of all dropsical effusion, and int

two months time, without the aid of anyother remedy whatever, the patient’shealth and strength completely re-

established. This gentleman has sincerecommended it to some of his acquaint-ances labouring under dropsy, and; it

general, with the happiest effects."

This accords pretty well with the state-ments of an old writer. °° Having direc-ted half a drachm of ipecacuanha," saysDr. James, " the patient vomited ex-

cessively, and thin watery stools camefrom him insensibly for several daysThis made me think he had taken apo-

cynum instead of ipecacuanha." It seemsthen, that the former is inferior to the

latter in emetic, and diaphoretic pro-

perties, but that it acts more on the

bowels, for which reason it may be worththe trial on few dropsical patients.

NEW SURGICAL OPERATION.

I THERE is, in the middle of each tooth, asevery anatomist knows, a little cavity,in which the fine branches of nerves

passing through the roots of the teeth areexpanded. This expansion of nervousmatter is the seat of sensation in theteeth ; and when, by caries or decay ofthe enamel, it is exposed to the influenceof external agencies, the patient is gene-rally obliged, on account of violence ofthe pain, to have the whole tooth pulledout.An ingenious surgeon from America,

lately settled in London, has satisfactorilyshown that the diseased part of the tooth,including the cavity above described, maybe cut off with the greatest ease and ce-lerity, and that the sound root or rootsmay be allowed to remain in their sockets.This mode of procedure has been shownand explained to the most scientific sur-geons of this city, who have, without ex-ception, expressed their conviction of itsutility. The operation has been perfoon-ed on more than two hundred members ofthe profession, and they have invariablvdeclared that it occasioned no pain, andthat it could scarcely be felt ; as theirown ceitificates show. The instrumentsused for this purpose, are very simple ;they are a few’plain forceps, right an-gted and straight, with cutting edget,

828

like the common surgical bone forceps ;hut these edges are made accurately tofit the necks of the teeth, and only thenecks ; so that, however decayed a toothmay be, the forceps may be safely andeasily applied, without any risk of

breaking the tooth. Having been thuscarefully applied on the neck of a tooth,the edges of the forceps should be heldparallel to the edge of the gum, andshould be made to press it down a little,in order to get at the neck about a linebelow the usual height of the gum ; thehandles of the forceps are then pressedgradually but firmly together, and in a moment the upper part of the tooth snaps ioff, including the cavity containing the expansion of the nerve, and thus in aninstant permanently relieves all pain.The advantages of this operation are-

Ist. It is painless, and instantaneouslyperformed.-2d. The surface of the soundstump remaining in the jaw presents afirm base for mastication, or for the fixingof an artificial tooth.-3d. What is of

greatest moment, the stump or stumpsleft in thejaw afford a firm support to theadjoining teeth; without which support,the alveolar process, corresponding to thepart before occupied by the diseased

tooth, and a part of the insterstial struc-ture of the jaw, become absorbed; theadjoining teeth in a few years becomeloose, and ultimately prematurely fall out,as daily experience shows.Mr. Fay has, for his improvement in

this branch of surgery, and for other for-ceps for the perpendicular extraction ofteeth, when extraction may be absolutelyrequired, received the large silver medalfrom the Society of Arts; and the in-struments, with engravings, will be pub-lished in the next volume of the Trans-actions of the Society.-Morning Herald.

We deem this a very ingenious andsafe operation, and have no doubt that

it will be generally adopted. It is not

intended entirely to supersede extraction,as there must occasionally be cases in

which, in consequence of diseasedfangsor jaws, that operation will be required:s ’ch cases, however, are very rare, in

comparison with those of diseased crowns ;

consequently, the procedure above de-

scribed, is applicable to the great majo-rity of .ase.:, of carious teeth.

’

BARON LARREY’S VISIT TODUBLIN.

Dublin, Sep. 2, 1826.THE announcement of Baron Larrey’s

intention of visiting Great Britain duringthe present Autumn, by your correspon-dent in Paris, inspired us here with somehopes that the" distinguished foreigner,"as the newspapers phrase it, would in-clude the Irish Metropolis in his trip ofobservations. His great professionalcelebrity, his long and laborious servicesas a military surgeon, added to the cha-racter for honour and disinterestednessbestowed on him by Napoleon in his" Memoirs," excited the public curiositynot a little to see a man, whom so manyand such rare qualities naturally renderedan object of interest. Every person, inshort, wished to behold an individual)whese talents and integrity had beenso highly valued by so excellent a judgeof both as Napoleon ; and even pnvateparties had been concerted for the bet-ter enjoyment of his society. The ab-

ruptness, however, of his arrival, and theshortness of his sojourn, completely dis-appointed these expectations, and butfew had an opportunity of gratifying theirwishes by a glance at the survivor of theEgyptian and Russiar. campaigns. With-out his approach being in the least sus-pected, he stopped but one day, and sofar escaped the annoyance of beingstared at like a wild beast, as his de-ceased master used to say at St. Helena,and probably evaded the misfortune ofbeing dinnered into a dyspepsia, by theimportunities of Irish hospitality. This,it appears, was not his object; for havingsailed from Havre to Southampton,where he forgot his letters of introduc-tion. he proceeded direct to inspect ;.hutwonder of the age, the chain bridge atMenai, and pursued his course to Dublin;so that on landing here, he found him-self in rather an awkward predicament,without his credentials, or as much asknowing the names of one of our Provin-cial Stars, except that of Mr. Cusack, ofwhom he had heard something from apupil in France. The short time which heremained here, was principally occupiedin visiting a few of our medical establish-ments, and the College of Surgeons. Hewas accompanied on the occasion by aDr. Law, as interpreter, a necessary sortof companion to a Frenchman, in goingthrough the hospitals, as few, if any, ofthe gentlemen in these institutions, speakthe language of that country with anydegree of perfection. He seems to beno niggard of his information, having