Surgery


Oesophagus probe (part 1)

about 1900 

 

 

"Foreign bodies in the esophagus are often the opportunity for surgical intervention, one must try to extract them with suitable instruments," coin catcher ", etc., or push them down into the stomach, only in desperate cases do they proceed to the opening of the esophagus Esophagotomy (Greek: esophagotomy) by opening the esophagus from the outside through the skin and muscles of the neck.This operation is difficult and not dangerous, it is also performed if, after sulfuric acid or alkali poisoning or following cancerous destruction, such narrowing of the esophagus that even fluid food does not even get into the stomach and death threatens by starvation "(Meyers Konversationslexikon, 4th ed. 1892).

 

Armand TROUSSEAU (1801-1867) was once considered the greatest clinician in France. In Paris he performed the first tracheostomy for Krupp. While suffering from asthma, in 1844 he developed cigarettes whose active ingredients were used to treat the seizures - the method was practiced until 1995.

 

TROUSSEAU proposed a set of extension olives to cure narrowing of the esophagus. Interesting is next to the ivory olives the coin catcher "crochet à bascule de GRAEFE", a kind of small parachute, with the swallowed coins could be pulled up ...
It lacks the sponge respectively. the 6th "egg".

 

"Ulflingen, Sept. 28 (Rescued) The 5-year-old son of a station assistant stationed there recently played with a coin.As usual for the children, the little one took the coin in his mouth and suddenly swallowed it in the esophagus, where it was swallowed During this time the child was unable to eat solid food and suffered great pain, until the medical art and skilful treatment of Mr. Delvaux of Luxembourg succeeded in taking out the coin now happy and cheerful again "(Bürger- und Bürgertenzeitung of 1.10.1903).

 

Illustrations of the coin catcher can be found p. 212/213 in the edited in 1910 (1987 re-published) Catalog of "Medicinisches Waarenhaus Action Society Berlin".