CONSERVATIVE METHODS IN THE TREATMENT OF PROSTATIC HYPERTROPHY.

Within the past few years operative methods of treating nearly all cases of prostatic hypertrophy have found many enthusiastic supporters. The Bottini operation and the different forms of prostatectomy have largely come into fashion, replacing castration and vasectomy, which were in vogue a few years ago. The fact that the question of operative treatment is still unsettled is attested by criticisms by good men of all the operations which are at present in general use. The adherents of prostatectomy condemn the Bottini operation with some justice because of the uncertainty and possibility of cutting through the bladder when operating in the dark. The adherents of the Bottini operation point out the dangers of so extensive an operation as prostatectomy in old men much weakened by disease. Bier's operation of ligation of the iliac arteries has practically gone into entire disuse, and we hear but little of the old-fashioned method of