The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-12 00:00:00

GARIBALDI'S TVOUND.

PISA, DEC. 5.

A very interesting report has just been published
by Professor Cipriani, a distinguished Italtan sur-
geon, and a member of the Chamber, on the case of
General Garibaldi's wound.

The statement—beginning from the day of Aspro-
monte, and concluding at the period of the extrac-
tion of the ball—is so full and complete, that It
leaves no question unanswered on this most interest-

ing case.
It distinctly states that on Garihaldi's arrival at
Varignano the degree of tumefaction and inflam-
mation was such that any examination was barely'
practicable, and that the Professors Porta and
Zinetti, on their consultation, could only discover
a short narrow passage—a "sinus'—passing from
above downward from the external orifice of the
wound, in which the probe could not detect the
presence of a ball. This inspired all with the hope
that the wound of one so dear to Italy would
not prove to be very dangerous, and that the ball:
having entered and fractured the inner ankle, had
by a rebound dropped out of the wound again.
By unremitting care and attention the tumefac-
tion was subdued and the inflammatory symptoms
got under, and it was at this period—about the 16th
or 17th of October—that Mr. Partridge arrived
from England, sent by the Garibaldian Surgical
Committee, to report upon the case and inform our
public at home as to the true circumstances of the
injury.
It is necessary to bear this precise period in mind
to understand clearly what ensued.
When Mr. Partridge presented himself at Varig-
nano, it was not as a surgeon whose assistance had-
been sought for by the other medical men in atten-
dance. He was neither known to any of them nor
in a position to be consulted by them. He was in
that extremely delicate and difficult position of a
looker-on come to observe and report on what he
saw; being only on sufferance, as it were, per'
mitred to feel the patient's pulse or inspect tho
appearance of his wound. Nothing could be more
courteous than the reception he met with, nor, as t
have heard, anything more conspicuous than hi°
own tact and delicacy in a situation eminently difd"
cult and awkward.
Mr. Partridge saw and questioned, but did net
examine Garibaldi; that is, he did not do that
which, had the case been his own, or one to willett
he had been called in consultation, he might
have done—viz., submit the patient to the pain
and suffering necessary to satisfy himself as to
extent and nature of the injury. He heard the
history of the case, and saw the wound
and from both he inclined to the opinion, vi'hieb;
was then that of Zanetti and the others, that tber'
was not the amount of injury apparent which jai,:
cated the presence of the bullet—a projectile, be
remembered, above an ounce in weight, of the for°
of a bolt, with a conical extremity, and said to ha.°
been discharged at the short distance of 200 metres'
That a ball of this size and shape, and with a
force proportionate to this short range, should enter
the ankle joint, implies an immense amount of ir
jury. Indeed, the total destruction of the whole
articulation, and the pulverisation of the bone 6
around might reasonably have been looked for'
Here, however, there. was nothing to argue that
such mischief had occurred. Professor Zanetti 'Avec
distinctly of this opinion, and though he agreed
with Mr. Partridge that nothing positively excluded
the belief that the ball might be there, yet no sYralY
tam then present implied that it was.
The wound, besides this, was in
that conditiel
in which the fact of the presence of the ball bell
ascertained could not have influenced the treatraen,.%"
There was far too much local disturbance to alley'
a'
of any operation for extraction. Arthritic
disease Garibaldi had long suffered from, added 11.,
the pain of his injury, and increased the constd_'o
tional derangement ; so that it would have beet;
highly injudicious to subject the patient at such
time to a very painful operation, and for the sat%
reasons, in a minor degree, was all examination, e
far as practicable, omitted.
That nothing could. be done save to continue tilc
treatment already pursued—viz., a diligent atter
tion to whatever could aiminish local inflammation'
and at the same time sustain general health-189
fully concurred in by Mr. Partridge, Zanetti,
Ripari, and the other surgeons in attendance. 5
Indeed the actual presence of the ball at this
time was less the important point to resolve th3ti
that of whether the articulation had been opened'
the wound of a joint, and the consequences of
escaped fluid, being to surgical authorities oedew of
the gravest forms of such injuries. Mr. Partr
ille6e
e:
was not of the opinion that the joint had
opened : he distinctly declared that.he believed the
wound had taken its course upwards and outwa'
"over the arch of the foot," instead of into it. 00
This M. Cipriani, in his report, confirms' 130,
arrived after Mr. Partridge had left Varigl36
and states that " by good fortune the missile 116
passed over the line of the articulation," and
pacted itself in the direction of the outer ankle' the
It will be seen, therefore, that he affirms thit
nod
ball was certainly there ; a point on which Zitbel
and Partridge had not fully agreed, though t.
.naies
by no means rejected or denied it. Professor bat
ciano, of Naples, concurred with M. Ciprianl,
all were unanimous on the essential point that es'
operation with a view to extraction would be w
pedient and ill-timed.
and su"
M. Nelaton arrived on the 28th October an
jected the patient to a long and painful 00/3jor
01
tion, in which he affirmed that he believed h° o 1
detected the ball at two centimetres and a hah et
tnig
the external orifice, but was not positive it ,re
not have been a fragment of bone, and suggested it
g
dilatation of the wound, by gradually plogg le
larger and larger each day, so as to render e%,_tror
iettcl
tion of the ball easier"—a process which every ir
tee
of humanity—not to add of good surgery--Wi
joice to hear was not listened to. to t'6
la
At the consultation of the day after e‘e
for
departure, 19 surgeons were present, and AL' toe,
after a tedious and terribly painful examirle
declared that the object touched by Nelaten that
not the ball, but an " osseous fragments" and treat'
no change whatever should be made in the gr.
I ment. " The day after," writes M. Cipriani/ f tee
Partridge, and M. Pirozoff, chief surgeon °
Russian staff, arrived at Spezzia, and fully
is to
I firmed the opinion we had come to,"--tbeabboeto
say, that no actual knowledge of the whereat ot3e
of the ball being attainable, there was "of all
course to pursue—viz., a patient prosecution oral
means to subdue inflammation, occasional re 63 tie°
e
of detached fragments of bone, and tile
eyel'
a
of such remedies as would assist nature in rh of
the St
ing the presence of a foreign body. On and
November Garibaldi was transported to r'S 'robe,
on the 9th an examination was made by the P
et
tic
too'
which, passing up a "sinus" of four cenbt::beei
encountered &resistance which proved to o
centimetres, fragment, butst
rounck passing
ona
h
bare
the ball. 'th 6
nfidr
mwhich s
taa bilocne:
d e
Byently the introduction of a probe armed W
eosill
prepared spongy the osseous fragment was,o fol'
detached on the 22d of November; and on t"rt,
lowing day, the wound being
•
mitting of easy access, the ball was safely
peditiously withdrawn. reflect
thus
to t
To any one who will take a trouble iced dot
on the case, the conclusion will be easily arrrasog
that it was one of those difficult and embar to tile
incidents, whose details being daily gi"nublic
world in bulletins, displayed before the Foweeer
degree of doubt and hesitation which, ni ore
medical men feel in the conduct of a case, theyove,
dilated a
an
co,
and thus we here
not prone to parade openly;
apparently, coutradictions and discrePancies thAt
riseey" r
wound gay le o
the poes„
in reality none existed—the real fact beiljgto
the changeful condition of the
one day the probable of the next.
each varying diagnosis, and rendered

------.---------......
VI Or
CTOll..._Ti, MMANU EL'S FIRININESS.--• Tile r.." •,,1. arl'• itil
respondent of the Sleek says that, in a conversation sc_.,,
Signor Ptutino upon tho late ministerial crisis, Victor W'',,
manuel declared he had intended to unite Cl' parties %0
new cabinet, but finding tho project impossible, they©
'l,O
only one course open to bim, viz., that traced out by ''-to
institutions of the country. " Upcin everything relatirig
the statute," he added, "I am firmer than the Allo.*.