CAESAREAN SECTION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ' 
By FERNANDO CALDERON 
(From the College of Medicine and Surgery, University of the Philippines, 
and the Philippine General Hospital) 
At the last meeting of this society held in November, 1912, 
I had the honor to read an article entitled, Preliminary report 
of the first nine cases of abdominal Cesarean section performed 
in the Philippines in the treatment of placenta previa. Three 
of these 9 cases were performed in my clinics, while the rest 
belonged to other physicians. Besides these there appeared 5 
other cases of Czesarean section which were performed for the 
treatment of contracted pelvis and for eclampsia, so that at that 
time 14 cases of Czxsarean section had been performed in the 
Philippines with the following results: Mothers, 12 recovered 
and 2 died; babies, 8 living and 6 died. 
In the preliminary report, the following conclusions were 
given: 
1. Abdominal Czsarean section, although a spectacular operation, is 
simple and should be more frequently resorted to in cases of placenta 
previa. 
2. Hysterotomy is a treatment which can best guarantee the life of both 
the mother and the child in those cases of placenta previa in which the 
cervix is not dilated and the amniotic sac cannot be reached. 
3. In infected cases Porro’s Cesarean section is to be performed rather 
than hysterotomy. 
4, In cases where the cervix is widely dilated, the rugturing of the bag 
of waters or the perforation of the placenta, followed immediately by the 
extraction of the fcetus, is the operation of choice. 
5. In those cases in which the cervical canal is not obliterated, but in 
which the examining finger is able to reach the amniotic sac, the latter 
should be ruptured, followed immediately by a tight vaginal pack, or by the 
introduction of a balloon to complete the dilatation of the cervix. This 
operation will do away with hysterotomy. 
Two years have elapsed since my preliminary report was 
made, and the experience acquired during that time, thanks to 
the vast number of cases furnished by the department of ob- 
stetrics of the Philippine General Hospital, has shown that the 
*Read at the annual meeting of the Philippine Islands Medical Associa- 
tion, Manila, November 4-7, 1914. 
1321955 65 
