A careful surgeon would no more neglect to drain off escaped blood while operating in the peritoneal cavity than he would operate with unsterilized instruments. He believes that drainage helps keep the cavity clean, lessens risk of peritonitis. But peritonitis often develops after "dry" operations nevertheless.
During the Arab-Jewish riots of 1936 in Jerusalem, Dr. Edward G. Joseph of Hadassah Hospital had many a patient whose abdomen was badly shot up. Dr. Joseph did not resort to drainage. Instead, he operated in a blood bath, stitched up his patients' intestines, closed their abdomens without further ado. When the victims recovered like...
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