Part 15

Koch reaches this result, that beginning phthisis can with certainty be cured with his remedy. On the other hand, advanced consumptives, in whose lungs large cavities already exist, may possibly be improved but can not be cured. However he provokes the idea, that perhaps his method of treatment together with a surgical operation, that removes all gangrenous matter from the lungs, may yet have beneficial results in the end. The idea is not entirely new to treat lung diseases with the aid of surgery; unfortunately the operations have heretofore been thought too risky. Perhaps we will now have a new branch in operative technic, surgery of the lungs. Koch advises to conduct this lung surgery after the manner of operating empyema. This is an operation performed in the case of suppurative pleurisy to remove the pus from the pleural cavity. This operation has been successfully carried out for a long time.

Koch makes it of especial importance, that while treating consumption with the new remedy, the general attendance and nursing is not to be neglected. Koch also calls attention to what has been said before, that the general hygienic factors, good hospital treatment, mountain climate, etc., will never be dispensed with, on the contrary will be indispensible to the furtherance of cure.

In conclusion Koch again remarks that brilliant results are only promised in the early stages of pulmonary consumption (phthisis). Physician and patient must move all levers as to the existence or non-existence of tuberculous diseases.

Then those daily pictures of extreme wretchedness from consumption will be a thing of the past. Then the danger of contagion will be lessened resulting from the decrease of the number of tuberculous persons and of the tubercle-bacilli, and perhaps it will soon be possible to name the day on which with the last tubercle-bacillus the ravaging pest, tuberculosis, will be extirpated.

+-------------------------------------------------------------+ | Transcriber's Note: | | | | Inconsistent use of develops/developes, and centres/centers | | has been retained as in the original. | +-------------------------------------------------------------+