70 206
“RECKONWITH CONFIDENCE IN
THEWOUND FOLLOWING AN ASEPTIC COURSE”
91
●
LISTER, JOSEPH; 1ST BARON. Autograph Letter Signed, “Lister,” to Dr. Powers
(“My dear Sir”), suggesting that surgery on a fractured knee cap is justified if the wound
can be expected to remain aseptic. 2 pages, 8vo, written on the recto and verso of a single
sheet, “Portland Place” mourning stationery; faint marginal discoloration from prior mat-
ting to recto and verso, horizontal folds.
[London], 31 January 1898
[1,000/1,500]
“
As I have now for a considerable time ceased to practice Surgery, I can only answer your ques-
tion in a general way.
“
. . . [O]perative interference in recent transverse fracture of the patella was in my hands uni-
formly satisfactory in its results, . . . [I]t should always be resorted to, provided always that the
surgeon can reckon with confidence in the wound following an aseptic course.”
Lister (1827-1912) was a British surgeon, considered to be the father of antiseptic surgery, who
developed a treatment for open wounds using carbolic acid dressings.