Excision of a remarkable tumour of the upper jaw in 1834 by Robert Liston

Scott Med J. 2000 Apr;45(2):57-9. doi: 10.1177/003693300004500210.

Abstract

A series of pre-operative casts of the head, one of plaster of Paris and the other of wax, have recently been discovered in the Department of Anatomy, Edinburgh, of a patient with an immense tumour of the left maxillary antrum which produced an enormous degree of facial distortion. These casts complement a series of engravings published in the contemporary literature. This lady's tumour was successfully excised by Robert Liston in 1834 in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, only a month before he left Edinburgh for London. The tumour was believed to be benign, and was removed without the benefit of anaesthesia. The patient returned the following summer to have a gold palate fitted, and while her voice was initially indistinct, it subsequently recovered.

Publication types

  • Biography
  • Historical Article
  • Portrait

MeSH terms

  • History, 19th Century
  • Humans
  • Maxillary Neoplasms / history*
  • Maxillary Neoplasms / surgery
  • Scotland

Personal name as subject

  • R Liston
  • J Syme