240

SURGICAL SKILL

smoothly folded several times, and anointed withcocoa-nut oil, as a pledget to keep open thewound. He ordered his patient to be keptperfectly quiet, not to be spoken to, no noise tobe made, nor his attention to be attracted inany way: to live chiefly upon vegetable diet,or if he had any kind of meat, fowl in prefer-ence to pork, or if pork, it was to be very smallin quantity, and without the least fat, withcocoa-nut milk for drink, in any quantity thathe felt disposed to take. The first night he hada great deal of pain, much thirst, and littlesleep; the following day he was much easier, agreat deal of blood was found to have been dis-charged, and a fresh pledget was introduced,which was renewed every morning as long asany discharge was apparent. When the dis-charge of sanguineous fluid ceased, which wasin about nine or ten days, the operator intro-duced his probe, to be sure that the cessationof the discharge was not occasioned by any ob-struction : he then contented himself with amore superficial pledget, that the external ori-fice might not heal too soon ; and the patientwas allowed to change his posture occasionally,but not for a long time together. As he grewbetter a little more meat was allowed him : butthe use of cava was interdicted until he gottolerably well. The wound healed in about six