A Method of Applying Syphon Exhaustion to Cases of Empyæma

1. Mr John Duncan demonstrated?(1.) A method of applying syphon exhaustion to cases of empyema. It consisted essentially of a large flat piece of plain rubber, a long rubber tube, and an airtight pliable bag. The cavity was filled with warm boric lotion. The tube, also filled, was inserted into the cavity through a hole in the plain rubber cut smaller than itself, and an elastic bandage passed round the chest to keep the rubber in position. The airtight bag was then filled, and by pressure at the bottom half emptied again. While the bag was brimming over the tube passed through its screw stopper was inserted into it and the stopper screwed home before the pressure was relaxed. The patient could walk about with the bag in his pocket. In one case in which this method had been tried it had worked very satisfactorily. When first commenced the capacity of the empyema cavity was thirty ounces. In one month it had diminished to a capacity of seven