Surgery |
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Retractor by PERCY |
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Sawing the bone at the same level as the soft tissues did not provide any material to cover the stump. CELSUS already mentions this problem: "During the operation, make sure that the remaining skin remains large enough to cover the entire stump. The Roman patient "walked on the bone", which was covered only with a thin layer of skin and at best subcutaneous fat - a painful affair if one wanted to use a prosthesis. Consequently, before cutting the bone, one tried not only to push up the skin, but also to push up all the soft tissues, thus saving a thick material for covering and cushioning the end of the bone.
Fabricius von HILDEN (1560-1634) developed a "trouser-sack", from which the stump of the bones looked down, while pulling the trouser-leg pulled the soft-tissue upwards. In the middle of the 18th century one used muscle hooks made of leather, with 2 openings for spoke and ulna resp. Tibia and fibula. These wound holders could not be cleaned. In 1800, there were the "muscle hooks" made of metal, with a single recess for the bone - illustrations can be found in Elisabeth Bennion, Old Medical Instruments, Sotheby 1979 pp. 52 and 53.
In 1799 Pierre-François PERCY (1754-1825) developed a new retractor for the soft tissue package, which consisted of two almost identical parts articulated via a hinge. He had participated in the Napoleonic campaigns where he had collaborated with LARREY - so he knew what he was talking about when he spoke on issues of amputation.
"Complete amputation for amputation", as offered by German department stores around 1910 do not contain retractors - apparently, the retractor was more a French thing. Even today, the "Percy" with removable handles part of amputation sets - new price around 157 euros!
The retractor presented here comes from the discarded fund of the clinic Differdingen (which is only a few kilometers from the French border). As in the 18th century models, there are two openings here - the small one is square, the larger one is circular and has a diameter of 4 cm. No manufacturer information, only a size "2" on the screwed-on single handle. |