The year 1938 was significant to otologists because on August 18 of that year occurred the fiftieth anniversary of the first successful operation1 for thrombosis of the lateral sinus, performed by Sir Arbuthnot Lane. The patient was a child with chronic otitis media and mastoiditis on the right and the classic symptoms of septicemia, together with "swollen optic discs," the right being more swollen than the left. At the "second mastoid operation" a necrotic sinus was uncovered, containing pus, which was removed until "quite healthy clot" was obtained. The internal jugular vein was ligated. In a second patient, operated on four months later, no thrombus was found in the sigmoid sinus, and the internal jugular vein was not ligated. This patient died of bronchopneumonia. Thus, at the beginning of operative experience in the treatment of thrombosis of the lateral sinus, the condition was dealt with by two surgical methods—ligation of