Mr. Home’s Observations on 
208 
the excrescence by ligature round its base ; but, when the ligature 
dropped off, a violent haemorrhage took place, and the excrescence 
gradually returned. Attempts were made to destroy it by 
caustic ; but haemorrhage always followed the separation of the 
sloughs; so that, after ten trials, this mode was found ineffectual. 
It was also removed by the knife, ten different times, but always 
returned. 
From this history I was led to believe, that the only mode of 
removing the disease was taking out the portion of the tongue 
upon which it grew. This was a case in which I felt myself 
warranted in making an attempt out of the common line of 
practice, to give the patient a chance of recovery ; and, from the 
preceding case, having found that pressure on one part of the 
tongue produced no bad consequences on the other parts, I was 
led to remove the excrescence in the following manner. 
On the 28th of December, I made the boy hold out his tongue* 
and passed a crooked needle, armed with a double ligature, di- 
rectly through its substance, immediately beyond the excres- 
cence. The needle was brought out below, leaving the ligatures; 
one of these was tied very tight before the excrescence, the other 
equally so beyond it, so that a segment of the tongue was con- 
fined between these two ligatures, in which the circulation was 
completely stopped. The tongue was thin in its substance ; and 
the boy complained of little pain during the operation. Thirty 
drops of laudanum were given to him immediately after it, 
and he was put to bed. He fell asleep, continued to dose the 
greater part of the day, and was so easy the next day as to re- 
quire no particular attention. On the fifth day from the operation, 
the portion of tongue came away with the ligatures, leaving a 
sloughy surface, which was thrown off on the 11th day, and was 
