CONSERVATIVE VS. RADICAL TEACHING.

In the discussion of the somewhat unsettled question of when to operate in appendicitis, at the late session of the American Surgical Association, an idea was brought out which, while not new, has a very important bearing on the subject and is well worth considering. One of the speakers, referring to the doctrine advocated by certain others that every case calls for operative interference, called attention to the fact that a great majority of these assumedly operative cases occurred in the practice of general country practitioners who have little experience in major abdominal operations, and who are without the hospital and nursing appliances that contribute so largely to the good results of our more successful operators. The important point in the discussion was, he said, "that conservatism ought to be advocated in dealing with cases of appendicitis, not so much for the Fellows of the association as for the surgeon