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Archiver > GREATWAR > 2005-02 > 1108842636


From: Janice <>
Subject: Fw: [WW1] medical question, 1914
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2005 14:50:47 -0500


----- Original Message -----
From: "Janice" <>
To: "Tom Tulloch-Marshall" <>;
<>
Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 2:19 PM
Subject: Re: [WW1] medical question, 1914


> Hi TTM/Listers,
> Just some thoughts on possible complications resulting from traditional
> hernia (herniorrhaphy) surgery:
>
> Excessive bleeding, reaction to medications, possible death due to
> allergic response to anesthesia or local medications, breathing problems,
> blood clots usually to legs, injury to surrounding structures including
> nerve, intestinal, or testicular damage in males, scarring, and of course
> infection. As stated by Tom, no antibiotics available till WW 2.
>
> Untreated hernias can be life threatening because of
> incarceration/strangulation leading to gangrene & death.
>
> Janice
> USA
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Tom Tulloch-Marshall" <>
> To: <>
> Sent: Saturday, February 19, 2005 1:02 PM
> Subject: Re: [WW1] medical question, 1914
>
>
>> "......... from the Royal Berkshires we have 667 men who were discharged
>> as
>> 'not likely to become an efficient soldier' between August 1914 and July
>> 1915 - quite a large number of these reappear after March 1916 as having
>> been called up "
>>
>> John, and all others who kindly expressed an opinion, - yes that's what
>> had
>> worried me, especially the chance that this man had ended up back in
>> service
>> and been kia / dow in some guise that I'm not recognising - because as a
>> civvie he completely disappears !
>>
>> Interesting feedback off-list (! you know who you are !) says
>> .............
>> "I have had a word with my medical expert (The wife) ........... In those
>> days surgery was not very successful in repairing the damage. In fact she
>> thinks that it unlikely he would have been operated on."
>>
>> That's the angle I was wondering about - no NHS, no health insurance,
>> probably had no money, not to mention surgical techniques which by our
>> current standards might seem more like butchery than surgery, and then no
>> antibiotics etc for problems during recovery. Would he ever have been
>> operated on - was that type of hernia operated on in 1914 ? - anybody
>> know ?
>> regards
>> --
>> Tom Tulloch-Marshall
>> Great War Military Research
>> Website > http://www.btinternet.com/~prosearch/index.html
>>
>>
>>
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>

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