About a year ago it was necessary to have my sphenoid and ethmoidal cells opened and drained. In order to obtain a good view of these cells, it was necessary to remove a large eburnated mass of bone, which had resulted from a fracture many years ago. After the mucous membrane had been stripped back, the bone was removed, first with chisels and then with bone forceps.
While I lay there undergoing this procedure, the idea struck me (or perhaps was "hammered into my brain") that a rapidly revolving drill, so designed as to be accurately used in the nasal cavities, would be a far more gentle and rapid method of removing bone. Accordingly, during my convalescence in the hospital I made drawings of such an instrument, and summoned the chief mechanic of the Brady Institute and had him construct the instrument shown in the accompanying illustration.
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