Cassarean Operation

Cassarean Operation, the removal of the child by incision in the middle line of the abdomen of the mother, a procedure sometimes attempted when delivery by the natural passages is rendered impossible (from pelvic deformity, or the encroachment of solid tumours), or when the mother's recovery is despaired of and the child lives, and rapid delivery cannot be effected by any other means. The term is derived from the Latin caedocaesus, I cut. Many of the supposed references to the operation in ancient literature are of doubtful authenticity, and the derivation of the name Caesar from it is quite unwarranted. The risk to the mother in performing the operation is very great, but, thanks to antiseptic surgery, by no means so considerable as in former days.