The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-09-16
A SURGEON IS IRRITATED

Articl.s on the infection treatment Of hernla nublished in this column irrtated him grea. daal. s.vs the head of the surgical department in a Class A medical school, in a personal coill- munication-
 q" but also stimulated me to look into it as a result of my Investigations l have arrived at conclusions whlcn are .xeu, !. one which corresponds to a certain extent with yours-that injection treatment IS worth trying before operation, in certain cases l.. l.,
 have had a wide operative experience III the treatment of hernia and realize that It ls not a panacea. Certain cases are pouno to recur .., . After investigation tried the n,ethod on some cases and while reallZlng that it is too early to be inaf the results have been surprisingly good so that am encour- aged to go on with the understanding that in certain cases, there w'ii De dal.ures ,rea ane surgery may be required. However agree with YOU that the question of failure IS ap- plicable to one method as to the other.
 am writing this as a tribute to your power to irritate some of us ana lrrltauon sometimes causes stimulation. l wish that It were possible for you to be little more CIT cumspect in some of your statements put per- haps it Is necessary in order to get loeas across.
 With a sense of gratitude,
 (Never mind who)
 I know the doctor would not wish his name mentioned here, but am sure he would permit me to give it to any physician of standing
 The .power to rritate," as applied to our medical colleagues, is just mean way nave of apprisins the public and the rank and file or the profession of modern developments In scl- entific medicine a year two before some or the men behind the guns adopt the new 1dea Circumspect? hope to meet this distln, cuished surgeon and teacher some time and give him an insight into the way in which Investigate an innovation before commend or advocate it here. He'd be pleased. There Is need for more circumspection in the attitude physi- clans take toward these modern methods. espe- cially on the part of the editors of our national and state medical organs. These myopic mouth pieces of the profession too often make them- selves and the profession at large rldlcuious py their reactions to irritation.
 My surgeon correspondent does not tell me- but happen to know that the physician of great corporation in his city was asked by the corporation to report on the merits of the am- bulant method. Probably some employe had been cured of hernia without being laid up for six weeks. The corporations physician invited the surgeon to join him in visit to country doctor who using the injection treatment with reputed success. They foApd the country doctor a thoroughly competent man. yea, man of the finest scientific type. He showed them every step of the method, and patients in vari- ous stages of treatment. He gave them refer ences to the scientific literature bearing on the method or attempts at it, covering period of 90 years! The young country doctor proved indeed, an inspiration, when these two city doc tors had approached him expecting to lind d crude charlatan. No doubt the corporation be- came interested in the method for the reason that from $10O to $150 covers the total cost of the treatment whereas the standard operation for hernia costs $c50 to $400 and keeps the pa tient away from work six weeks.
 If good man here and there sees the light, it will dawn the entire profession presently
 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
 Hard for the Parasites
 Part of the letter from a physician who has two other degrees besides his NJ. D.: struggling away at a country practice, trying to make something out of these hard times, though times are not half so hard as most peO pie think they arc. Answer-The people who vail most over hard times" are the parasites, not the men and women who do useful work.
 Mouth Wash
 Please give a formula for a good mouth- wash. (E s. S) Answer-If an antiseptc wash Is required the best know IS a solution of rounded tca- flavor 1t if you prefer.
 For the Hard of Hearing
 Your correspondent F.. W. who inquired about lip reading should apply tO the League for the Hard Of Hearing in his. or her city fOr instruction. lf there k none there. write to the American FcderatIons of Organizations for the Hard of Hearing i557 sThirty.huh Street, N. w.. Washington. D. C. (M. @
 Answer--Thank you. Many other core. spondents have kindly sent In this information. and several recommend private Instructors in Up reading, but we are unable to nanie such private teachers.