IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR REMOVING STONES' FROM THE BLADDER
Year: 1883

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by William Phillips Thompson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 26th July 1883. A communi-
cation from Doctor Nicolau Vergueiro of São Paulo in the empire of Brazil.
WILLIAM PHILLIPS THOMPSON of the Liverpool and London Agency for Foreign
Patent Solicitors 6 Lord Street, Liverpool in the county of Lancaster, Civil
Engineer "IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR REMOVING STONES'
FROM THE BLADDER a communication from Doctor Nicolau Vergueiro of São
Paulo in the empire of Brazil
"
The present invention consists in a system of artificial bladder apparatus capable
of extracting stones from the bladder and obviating the great inconveniences
presented by the divers methods of lithotrity, litholapaxy, and litholysis, or of
the use of the cystotome (taille) now adopted in actual practice and by which the
internal coat of the bladder is exposed from the lesions (wounds) resulting from
the contact of the instruments, from the fragments of the stone itself, or from the
liquids employed in dissolving it; moreover, they do not present sufficient guarantee
for the complete departure of the smallest fragments of stone reduced mechanically
or by any other process.
My invention consists essentially in an artificial bladder and the special instru-
ments, which permit of its introduction into the human bladder, whether by
natural means, or by means of a puncture performed in the tissues.
It is understood that the artificial bladder above indicated, once introduced into
the skin, and the stone being seized and enclosed in the artificial bladder, it becomes
possible to operate in this bladder, and to reduce and extract the stone by
mechanical, chemical or electric means, without employing any of the agents above
indicated, which do not come into contact with the internal walls of the skin.
The apparatus is composed essentially of a bladder, which can be made of sheep
bladder, or parchment, or other substance sufficiently supple, impermeable and
tough. The edges of this are fixed to a jointed or pliable fork or frame, which
in its turn is fixed to a handle or sheath of metal or other substance by means of
its two hooked or barbed ends, in such manner that it can allow the said ends
to turn and to open and close the mouth of the artificial bladder, the frame being
hinged for this purpose.

page_text: Or in place of this arrangement, the frame can be formed of four rods, and three
rods jointed to them in such manner that by pulling on one of these three rods,
and pushing on the others, the rods of the frame open and close liko the rectangles
of a lazytongs.
In some cases the frame carrying the artificial bladder can be jointed to a strong
curved catheter or probe, with two long shanks going down the stem of the
catheter, and so that by turning these shanks, by their projecting arms at the end
of the catheter shank, the artificial bladder is opened or closed. In the case or
stem of the catheter are lodged or passed the instruments destined to break the
stone, as well as the injections necessary to facilitate the operation, and for the
application of electrolysis. For this effect it is important that the closing of the
artificial bladder produced by the closing of its two rounded and jointed parts
form a perfect joint, so that the liquids used to cause the chemical reduction of the
stone cannot spread abroad-and-come in contact with the liquid contained in-the
bladder, and thus with the bladder walls themselves.
Various forms of clamping screws and handles can be used, as required for the
different methods applied.