Ecraseur

Ecraseur, the name of an instrument invented by M. Chassaignac, and consisting of a stem with a fine chain passed through it, which, passed round any tissues, gradually constricts them, and finally crushes its way through them by means of a screw or rack for tightening it, which is worked at the end of the handle. Other forms of the instrument are arranged for a single wire, or a cord of twisted wires, instead of the chain. The advantage of this instrument over the knife is that it causes little or no bleeding, the torn vessels spontaneously contracting and closing. It is specially applicable to pedunculated growths, such as piles and polypi, but has been used extensively in removal of the tongue for cancer. In the galvanic ecraséur, the general arrangement is the same; but the wire noose is insulated and connected with a battery, that it may be heated to redness during its passage through the tissues, and may cauterise as well as crush them. As the pain which is caused by this instrument is very great, the patient should be placed completely under the action of an anaesthetic before it is applied.