Archives: Surgical

A remarkable instrument beautifully constructed from ebony and silver. It is comprised of a cylinder hinged in two halves, a needle and a cover. After restoring the hernia the apparatus was inserted and the handle then removed, leaving the cover in place for 6-8 days to produce adhesions which would seal off the hernia. Which "By their most earnest advocates have been considered applicable to the smallest most recent and least troublesome hernias" their value being otherwise "denied or seriously questioned". In other words ... they probably did not work!

A rare ivory trocar. The top of this delicately carved piece unscrews to reveal a silver cannula sheath which is inserted over the central needle.  The ivory body of the trocar is marked with the number "2". The ivory is in excellent condition throughout with no cracks or marks (Seen on page 178 of Elisabeth Bennion's Antique Medical Instruments)

A beautiful Viennese Surgical set in leather wallet. Remarkably well preserved since the 19th Century. The catch is ornately engrave in true Viennese style. The Leather remains soft and the silk lined interior is in excellent condition noting one small area of separation. The original tools are largely present, including a nasal polyp remover similar to the 1860 model on p101  in Elisabeth Bennion's book on Antique Medical Instruments.

A complete neurosurgical trephine set from late 19th or early 20th century. It contains a trephine handle with two attachments, each with their own retractable centre pin (to anchor the bit, but prevent damage to brain tissue during drilling). A bone chisel, two lenticulars, an elevator and a hand drill (used to tap the skull manually). The tools fit perfectly into the original purple silk and velvet lined case. The case shows age related wear and is missing one latch but closes securely. The tools, apart from the trephine (which is undoubtedly original) and the case are labeled "Hauptner" who were predominantly veterinary instrument makers. I am assured by one experienced vet and a collector, that there are no indications for the neurosurgical trephining of any animal and that this set would have been for human use.

Skull Clamp by Codman and Shurtleff 1880

A superb mid 19th century English post mortem set with crosshatched ebony handle. The knife is engraved  J Gray & Son Sheffield. The smaller ebony handled scalpels are not marked. The sellers label has been partially removed from the box but almost certainly reads Millikan and Lawley which would date the set to around the 1860s

A late 19th century device for applying skull traction. In more recent times for cord compression and neck fracture this would usually be done through apparatus fixed to the end of a bed and pressure would be applied constantly through the application of weights. The interesting thing about this piece is that it was for manual traction, which seems less likely to have been practical. One suggestion has been that this instrument would have been used at post mortem, where manipulating the cranium through the use of a handle does seem more plausible. The handles are made from crosshatched ebony and the piece is signed Codmann and Shurtleff Boston.

Antique Trephine, Elevator and Raspatory

19th C Trephine Drill with ebony handle

Elevators were used to pull up the bone from around depressed skull fractures. This also double as a rasp to scrape soft tissue from the bone and as a scalpel (trephine). The identifying picture is from Charles Lentz and Sons (Est 1886) 7th surgical catalogue. There is minimal early corrosion on the crosshatched handle but it is otherwise in very good condition. There is no makers mark. It dates to the turn of the century.

A 19th century trephine drill with ebony handle and two drill attachments. The spiked centre of the drill bit was applied to start drilling into the skull. This could then be retracted to avoid damage to the brain when the drill hole was established

A superb rectal speculum with hand carved ivory handle and unplated steel tri-valve blade mechanisms. By rotating the ornately carved ivory handle the three blades extend or retract. The instrument is of very high build quality. It is unsigned but there is an identical piece in a fitted case signed by Weiss who is undoubtedly the maker.

Assalini style artery forceps with a press horn handle. The handle is marked London on one side and Weiss on the other. A similar pair of these superb forceps are on display in the Wellcome Museum London. "The thumb opened the jaws to clamp the artery. The ligature was then pushed over the vessel and tied".

A pair of artery forceps made to the highest standard with crosshatched ivory handle and tempered blue steel spring. The makers name (Ferguson) is engraved on the side of the forceps.

This three piece trocar is of slightly different design. It contains three trocars of reducing size sheathed within each other and their respective cannulae and stored in the handle compartment. The tubular handle and body are fluted and the nickel plated brass is in excellent condition throughout.

A fine nickel plated Chassaignac's Ecraseur with metal handles. This instrument comes with its original chain and is in good working order. It was used for treatment of haemorrhoids. The chain was looped over the offending pile and tightened using the ratchet mechanism hence stopping the circulation by strangulation. It was also used to removed uterine or ovarian tumours and was preferred in these cases because the process of crushing with a chain produced less bleeding than excisions made with with a scalpel.

A fine 19th century surgical leather wallet containing a fleam, folding lockable knife and needle, artery forceps, curved scissors, curette, trocar, director, blunt needle, thermometer, caustic stick holder,  toothed forceps and two plain forceps. The fleam is in excellent condition and the sheath is beautifully carved. The bowl of the thermometer has broken. The ten main instruments are original to the set and are engraved Gasselin, excepting the scissors, blunt needle and plain forceps. The wallet is in fine condition noting that one protective flap has been stitched and the other three have age consistent wear. It is marked in gold embossed letters Gasselin, 4 Bd St Martin, Paris.

A very rare amputation tourniquet, a variation of Tiemann's Direct Pressure Tourniquet first marketed by him in the early 1840's (Tiemann catalogue). Much larger (4" X 5") than the more common Petit's Tourniquets which were made by various medical houses. Maker-marked and made by Samson, Paris, a contemporary of Charriere dating to the 1850's. Near mint condition, all original and perfect in every way with original straps and pads.

Rare and high quality Assalini forceps made from steel, blued steel and with a crosshatched ivory handle. The instrument is in perfect working order and still has a firm hinge and tight spring. It is signed Matthews who was in business from 1846 as "Wm Matthews" in Portual St London and later as "Matthews" from 1878.

A pair of broad bladed ivory and steel haemorrhoid forceps. The haemorrhoids were "fixed" by clamping them between the two closed blades and the resulting strangulation of their blood supply would cause them to drop off. No doubt bringing some water to the eyes! The handle is engraved with "5" and the makers mark "R Kutill". 5mm from the proximal end of one of the ivory blades broken off. A similar type of instrument can be seen in Elisabeth Bennion's book Antique Medical Instruments on pages 65 & 88.