Salpingectomy for ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
Not much more than a century ago, a ruptured ectopic pregnancy was a death sentence. In 1876, John Parry wrote in his book on this subject: 'Here is a wife in the most useful period of her existence, which good authorities have said is never cured; and for which, even in this age when science and art boast of such high attainments, no remedy, either medical or surgical, has been tried with a single success'. When we read that eminent authorities were advising the use of electric shocks, injection of narcotics into the sac and copious and frequent bleeding, one is hardly suprised. Parry himself suggested that the only remedy would be to open the abdomen and either tie the bleeding vessels or remove the sac entirely.
Ellis
Harold
H
Department of Anatomy, Guy's Campus, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 1UL.