MEDICAL CONFERENCE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19879, 24 February 1928, Page 13

MEDICAL CONFERENCE.

SESSIONS AT HAMILTON

MANY SUBJECTS DISCUSSED.

IMPORTANCE OF DIAGNOSIS.

[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] HAMILTON. Thursday. The annual conference of the New Zealand Medical Association was continued at Hamilton to-day. A total of .122 delegates were present. The general arrangements made for the conference have been highly praised by visiting delegates. Both the business and entertainment programme has so far been satisfactorily carried out. The sessions of the ear, nose and throat sections are being well attended and several instructive papers have been read. Dr. A. J. Hall, of Dunedin, dealt with "Prevention in Opthalmology" yesterday. This was followed by an address on "Ocular conditions arising from Naso-oral Pathology," given by Dr. L. D. Cohen, of Wellington. In the afternoon Dr. S. L. Green, of Hamilton, read a paper on "Mastoid Skiagraphy," demonstrations being given by Dr. H. Harris, of Hamilton. To-day Dr. L. Talbot, of Timaru, dealt with the difficult subject of "Chronic Progressive Deafness," emphasising the necessity of an accurate diagnosis of the cause. Some cases were undoubtedly incurable, he said, but others were amenable to treatment. In the discussion that followed, emphasis was laid on the "need for early treatment, and it was stressed that too pessimistic" a view should not always be taken. Cultivating Team Work. The subject of "Tinnitus," or noises in the head, was dealt with by Dr. J. A. Doctor, of Wellington. This very distressing complaint he classified in a novel way. In the resultant discussion it was made clear that members felt that advanced cases were hopeless, but that early treatment, if based on an accurate diagnosis, held out a chance in many cases. The radiological section sessions opened yesterday morning when a paper on "Cholecystography," X-ray photographs, of the gall bladder, was read by Dr. H. Harris. "Mastoid Skiagraphy" dealt with by Dr. H. Harris and Dr. S. L. Green. To-day's sessions opened with a paper on "Radiology of the Chest," read by Dr. F. Gwynne, of Auckland. The doctor said that several cases ot this incapacitating disease had been examined at the Auckland Hospital during the past 18 months. He emphasised the fact that the highest percentage of correct interpretations of pulmonary diseases depended on a close co-operation between clinician, the pathologist and the radiologist. The dibadvantages of specialisation could only be overcome, he said, by cultivating teamwork in medical and surgical diagnosis. Dealing with "Laboratory Aids to Diagnosis," Dr. P. P. Lynch, pathologist to the Wellington Hospital, said it mustbe remembered the tremendous help that a pathologist could give. th£ clinician in making a diagnosis was only to be regarded as assisting him in his work and must not be allowed to supersede the careful routine bedside examinations. Difficulties in diagnosing a malignant disease could be made much easier by means of the , microscope in the hands of a competent pathologist. Gift for Parent Body. Speaking on the same subject, Dr. R. E. Bevan Brown, of Christchurch, said the treatment of diabetes had undergone great strides since the biochemist had come to the aid of the doctor. By his tests of the patient's blood he could make a more certain diagnosis. The examination of the blood in diseases affecting the kidney was of great importance. Surgical diseases of women were dealt with by Dr. F. Riley, of Dunedin. Mr. Victor Bonney also spoke on the subject. Surgery, he said, was an. art in \?hich the true surgeon endeavoured to keep, or make, his patients normal. He therefore devoted all his endeavours to preserving every organ as intact as possible, whether it was considered to have any useful function or not.

At a meeting of the council this morning it was decided to hold the next conference at Wellington. The annual dinner of the association was held this evening, the president. Dr. H. Douglas, presiding. The Hon. J. A. Young, Minister of Health, and Dr. T. H. A. Valintine, Director-General of Health, were present. The presentation of a handsome silvermounted inkstand was made to Mr. Victor Bonncy as representing the British Medical Association. The stand, which is a gift from the New Zealand Medical Association, will be used in the new offices of the parent body, London. The Canadian and Australian Associations have made other useful gifts. A chairman's mallet, a gift from the English Obstetrical Society, was presented to Dr. W. Irving, president of the newlyformed New Zealand Obstetrical Society, by Mr. Bonney.