Classic Articles in Colonic and Rectal Surgery

Abstract

John Morgan's brief article is here reproduced as a “Classic” with perhaps a little less fanfare than other more renowned contributors to our literature. He was not the first to resect a colon nor the initial describer of a new disease. But his contribution, which appears almost as an afterthought in his paper, is unique in that it represented the first report of what was to become for 100 years the primary treatment for office management of hemorrhoids—injection therapy.

Morgan was born in Bath, England, in April 1820, He was the son of a physician. After the death of his father, he moved to London and entered Kings' College. As was the custom of the day, he became apprenticed to a surgeon and attended lectures, often at Saint George's Hospital.

He established himself as a surgeon in London in 1845, in the neighborhood of Hyde Park. This area was the “resort of the wealthy and the successful.” He died in November 1891, having achieved a significant reputation in the community.

In several American books, Mitchell is credited with conceiving the idea of injection therapy. But all references point to 1871 as the year of this “invention”. Indeed, Mitchell marketed his product but did not write about it. Morgan's article appeared in 1869. He employed tincture of iron persulfate for external hemorrhoids; Mitchell utilized carbolic acid (phenol) in olive oil for internal hermorrhoids.