602 PLAIN FACTS FOR OLD AND YOUNG 



a pessary, but the use of pessaries involves various 

 inconveniences and dangers, some of which have al- 

 ready been mentioned. The best means to be employed 

 for this purpose is a simple surgical operation, which 

 consists in the shortening or advancement of the round 

 ligaments. By means of this operation the uterus is 

 tilted forward, and held out of the current of the down- 

 ward pressure, and is thus protected from the influence 

 of the superincumbent weight of the prolapsed abdom- 

 inal organs. 



By the combination of these two classes of means, 

 surgical and hygienic, nearly all cases of retroversion 

 or retroflexion can be cured. This operation has been 

 successfully performed in hundreds of cases. A^Hien 

 the operation is properly performed, and followed by 

 the application of the measures suggested, success may 

 be attained in at least ninety-five per cent of all cases 

 which are suited for the operation. 



Prolapsus of the Ovaries.— The symptoms of this 

 unfortunate and very serious condition are pain of a 

 sickening character during movement of the bowels 

 and in walking, and after standing on the feet for some 

 time, starting in the groin and extending along the 

 front of the thigh on the affected side ; painful connec- 

 tion. On making an examination with the finger, the 

 ovary can usually be felt as a round swelling on one 

 side of the womb. Sometimes, in extreme cases, the 

 ovary may be found behind the womb. The most com- 

 mon causes are chronic congestion of the womb, pro- 

 lapsus, retroversion or retroflexion, inflammation of 

 the ovaries, self-abuse and other sexual excesses, abor- 

 tion, and the employment of means to prevent con- 

 ception. 



When due to retroversion or some other displace- 



