The Electric Cautery in the Treatment of Cystic Growths of the Neck

but the limbs were not affected, though there was slight loss of power in the legs. Otherwise the patient's health was very good. The cyst was allowed to refill, and a month after the exploration Dr. Amussat cauterized the interior of the tumour in the following way: The patient was seated in a chair and a long trocar passed obliquely upwards through the tumour from the inner extremity of the clavicle, emerging behind the angle of the jaw. The stylet having been withdrawn, a piece of platinum wire was passed up through the canula, and left with the ends hanging out at the two openings, when the canula was withdrawn. The contents of the tumour again were drawn off through the canula. The ends of the platinum wire having been connected with the terminals of an electric battery, and the wire made red hot, the interior of the cyst was cauterized by moving the red hot wire about inside it. Cold dressings were applied, and the patient allowed to walk about as usual. There was no subsequent constitutional disturbance of any kind. Four days after the operation the platinum wire was removed, and simple dressings applied to the two small openings. Six months afterwards the only traces of the former diseases were two very small cicatrices at the spots of entrance and exit of the wire. The second case was that of a lady who had a small cystic growth in the neck, the size of a walnut, situated directly over the common carotid. The patient declined to submit to any operation that would leave a scar. Electro-puncture was determined on, and every other day two fine steel needles wero introduced into the tumour and connected for five minutes with