The Results of Treatment of Bladder Tumors

The treatment of bladder tumors prior to 1910 was in almost all cases a surgical one, with an attempt at partial or complete removal of the growth. Whether the tumor was benign or malignant, operative procedure offered the only hope of cure or alleviation. The brilliant results obtained by Nitze in his endovesical treatment of bladder tumors were not duplicated by other urologists, as the skill necessary for the employment of his methods was not perfected. The introduction of fulguration by Beer and later the employment of radium are two procedures which have served radically to change our ideas, and have consequently affected our attitude in the selection of the proper treatment for any individual case. When fulguration was first employed, the results obtained by different surgeons were apparently immeasurably superior to the results secured by old operative methods. It began gradually to be realized, however, that all vesical tumors