signed unbound
1852 · Cheraw, SC
by KOLLOCK, Cornelius (1824 - 1897)
Cheraw, SC, 1852. unbound. 8 pages (front and back), each two-page spread measuring 8 x 10 inches, Cheraw, South Carolina, September 25, 1852. In this letter to Dr. Rufus Woodward, Dr. Kollock discusses pioneering the use of the Bozeman Button Suture in the first successful treatment of a Lacerated Perineum and also provides a sad glimpse of the great doctors' racial attitudes, in very small part: "...I was called a few weeks since to a patient who had sustained an exterior laceration to the anus involving the M sphincter and about an inch from the vagina. I operated 22 days after delivery in what I regarded as somewhat -- a novel way, at any rate I have not seen or heard the operation being performed as I did it on this occasion. Instead of using the ordinary suture I introduced silver wire through the edges of the wound and recurred them by means of silver buttons, it is called Bozeman's Button Suture, much as has been used in 'Vesico Vaginal Fistula.' My operation is so far the first in which the button suture has been used in the cure of Laceration of the Perineum. It receded most admirably. I allowed the wire and buttons to remain on thirteen days during which time I kept the wound of the patient constituted and drew off the water daily with a catheter. On the morning of the 14th day I removed the sutures and found to my great satisfaction that there was a perfect union of the parts throughout the entire extent of the laceration. I am preparing an account of the case for publication...You folks up North know nothing about the splendid sport of a fox chase -- the way you hunt them -- you go out with two or three dogs and shoot the fox the first time he comes in sight. Here we think no more of shooting a fox than a nigger..." Tiny partial tears along the horizontal folds; some pencil underlining on page 5. Very good(-) condition. Note: Most surviving correspondence of Dr. Cornelius Kollock has long been collected by Historical Societies and Institutions with few remaining items remaining in private hands. Letters with fine content are almost nonexistent. Provenance: The Rufus Woodward Archive sold at Alexander Autographs February 2007. American surgeon and gynecologist who studied in Paris under Mssrs. Gerhard, Michel and Ricord and became one of the earliest proponents in the use of Chloroform. His groundbreaking and innovative surgical procedures are said to have saved thousands of lives and extended the lifespan of thousands more.
(Inventory #: 273237)