17
CALCUTTA MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
39. At the Mayo Native Hospital there were performed 451 major operations
against 189 in the previous year, the increase having already been explained.
The following are some of the more important operations:—
Cataract extraction
. . .
...
...
33
Lithotomy
. . .
...
. . .
. . .
2
Litholopaxy
...
. . .
...
...
5
Strangulated hernia without opening of sac
. . .
4
Scrotal tumours
...
...
...
10
Larger amputations
. . .
. . .
...
16
The chief operator was Surgeon-Major Sanders, but Surgeon Leahy perform-
ed 25. Dr Jones performed 244, but almost all of these were for radical cure
of hydrocele. House Surgeon Shoshi Bushan Mookerjee operated on 8 cases,
S. P. Sarbadhikari 38 cases, and Monmotho Nath Chatterjee 38 cases.
40. At the Chandney Hospital there were 27 major operations, of which
four were dislocations.
41. At the Park Street Dispensary, there were 18 major operations, con-
sisting of 8 reduction of dislocations, 5 removal of tumours and 5 radical cure
of hydrocele.
42. At the Chitpur Dispensary there were 54 cases of operations, of
which 46 were for radical cure of hydrocele.
43. There was no important operation performed at the Sukea's Street
Dispensary.
44. At the Howrah Hospital there were 80 major operations against 111
in the previous year. The diminution is thus reported upon by Dr. Murray:
"In a manufacturing and railway centre like Howrah, the operations at the
hospital must necessarily fluctuate with the number of accidents that occur from
time to time." The more important major operations were performed by
Brigade-Surgeon Purves, Surgeon-Major R. D. Murray, and Assistant Surgeon
Amrito Lall Deb. Dr. Murray performed 12 extractions of cataract, of
which 11 were successful, or at the rate of 91 per cent. In connection with
the small number of cataract cases, he remarks: "This number is very
small when contrasted with my work in this department at Gaya before
coming to Howrah, where I did 1,000 cataract extractions in 15 months with a
successful percentage of 94. Either there are fewer cases of cataract in this part
of the country, or they don't come forward for operation. The proximity of
the large Calcutta hospitals, too, must necessarily affect the amount of surgery
possible at what is practically a suburban hospital."
45. Dental practice. —The particulars of this are given below
—
1890
1891.
Extractions
. . .
1,661
1,734
Fillings
...
1 2 6
141
Miscellaneous operations
533
556
Total
...
2,320
2,431
Male.
Female.
Children.
Total.
Europeans
. . .
184
105
69
358
Eurasians
...
358
321
215
894
Hindus
. . . 467
76
70
613
Muhammadans
. . . 249
29
24
302
Other castes
. . .
36
50
22
108
The Eurasian community far exceed the other classes in their application
for relief. Mr. Wood remarks that the teeth of mixed races are more prone to
decay than those of other classes as proved by statistics. The Hindus are
the next most frequent applicants for relief, and it is noticeable that with them
dental caries is greatly on the increase which he considers due to advancing
civilization.
46. Mr. Wood again complains that the room allotted to him for opera-
tions is not suitable, and it would be well if Dr. Birch would bear this in mind,
and give him better quarters when the alterations in the hospital are being
made.
D