NYMC Artifacts

 

Creator

Donor

Westchester Medical Society

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Identifier

2015.1.2

Date Created

ca. early 1800s

Description

The Thomas perforator was used for craniotomy in either a dead infant (when one tried to avoid a Cæsarean section in the mother) or in a pregnancy with a child who had developed severe hydrocephalus (even in those cases, needle puncture and drainage were preferred). The term "craniotomy", as used in obstetrics, means any operation that effects a decrease in the size of the fetal head for the purpose of facilitating its delivery. It comprises puncture of the fetal skull and evacuation of its contents.

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