Plombage was a medical procedure used between the 1930s and 1950s to treat tuberculosis before effective medications were available. The idea behind the treatment was based on the belief that collapsing a lung affected by tuberculosis would allow it to heal more quickly. To achieve this, physicians would perform plombage, which involved creating a cavity underneath the patient’s upper ribs and filling it with various materials, such as Lucite balls, ping pong balls, oils, rubber sheets, paraffin wax, or gauze.
Unfortunately, this treatment carried numerous risks and potential complications. Many patients experienced hemorrhage, infection, and fistulization as a result of the procedure. Fistulization refers to the formation of abnormal openings or connections between two hollow organs, such as the bronchus, aorta, esophagus, and skin.
Back when it was considered unhealthy to bathe regularly, this may have been true
We may have believed this when troublesome youths were lobotomised
During the 1800s, people came out and criticized the ridiculous notion that washing your hands before touching a patient would prevent infection.
Sometimes I think these doctors knew it wouldnt work, they were just the Mengele of their time.