The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-01-07

For the prevention of Pain in Surgical Oper-
atoms. By John c. Warren,M, D.-ErOnl
the Boston Medical and Surgical Journal.
The discovery of a mode Of venting
pain in surgical operations has been an OBJ
ject Of strong desire among surgeons from an
early period. In my surgical lectures | have
almost annually alluded to it, and stated the
means which l have usually adopted for the
attainment Of this object. have also freely
declared, that Notwithstanding the use OF
very large narcotic substances this desidera-
tum had never been satisfactorily obtained -
The successful use Of any article of the mate
ria medica for this purpose, would therefore
be hailed by me as an important alienation to
human suffering.
About five weeks since, DR.. Norton dem
fist of this city, informed me that he had in
vented an apparatus for the inhalation of a
vapor, the effect of which was to produce a
state of total insensibility to pain, and that he
had employed it successfully in a sufficient
number of cases in his practice to justify him
in belief Of its efficacy He wished for an
opportunity to test its power in surgical opc-
rations, and / agreed to give him such an OPP
portunity as soon as practicable,
Being at that time in attendance as Sur
geon of the Massachusetts General Hospital,
a patient presented himself in that valuable
institution few days after my conversation
with DR. Morton, who required an operation
for tumor Of the neck and agreeably to my
promise I requested the attendance Of DR..
Morton.
On Oct. 9TH, the patient being prepared
for the operation, the apparatus was applied
to his mouth by DR.. Morton for about three
minutes, at the end Of which time he sank in
to q state of insensibility. l Immediately
made an incison about three inches long
through the skin of the neck, and began dis
section among important nerves and blood
vessels without any expression Of pain on the
part of the patient. Soon after he began to
speak incoherently, and appeared to be in an
agitatcd state during the remainder Of the OPP
Grafton. Being asked Immediately aferward
whether he had suffered much, he said that
he had felt as if his neck had been scratched !;
but subsequently, when inquired Of by me,
his statement was, that he did not experience
pain at the time, although aware that the OPP
Grafton was proceeding.
The effect of inhalation in ncutralizing the
senticnt faculty was made perfectly distinct to
my mind by this experiment, although the
patient during a part of its prosecution cx-
hibited appearances indicative of suffering
DR.. Morton had apprsod me that the inhu-
ence of his application would last but a few
minutes after its Intern; ssion and as the OPP
Grafton was necessarily protractcd, was not
disappointed that its success was only par
tial.
On the following day, Oct. 18th, an opera
ton was done by Dr. Hayward, on tumor
of the arm, in a female patient at the lIospi-
tai. The respiration Of the vapor was in this
case continued during the whole Of the oper-
alton. There was no exhibition of pain, ex-
cepting some occasional groans during its
last stage, which she subsequently stated to
have arisen from dsagreeable dream, No
ticing the pulse in this patient before and af-
ter the operation, found it to have risen
from 80 to 1920.
Two or three days after these occurrences,
on meeting with DR.. Charles L. jackson, dis
tinguishcd for his philosophical spirit ofinqui-
ry, as we'll as for his geological and chemical
science, this gentlemen informed me that he
first lggested to Dr. Morton the inspiration
ofethcr, as a means Of preventing the pain OF
operations on the teeth. He did not cl aim
the invention of the apparatus, nor its practl-
cal application for these we are indebted to
DR.. Norton.
The success of this process in the proven
ton OF pain for a certain period being quite
established, we thought ourselves justified in
inviting DR.. NJ ,rton to continue his expert
ments at the Hospital and elsewhere and he
directly after, Nov. 9TH, attended at painful
and protractcd operation performed by me,
of the cxcSion of the lower jaw, in which the
patients sulfGrings were greatly mitigated.-
On the same day an amputation of the thigh
of young woman was performed at the
Hospital by DR.. Hayward. In this case the
respiration Of the ethereal vapor appeared to
be entirely successful in preventing the pain
of the operation; the patient stating, after
wards, that she did not know that anything
had been done to her.
On Nov. 18th, an operation for the rcmoy-
al of a tumor from the arm of young woman
was performed by DR.. j. Mason Warren
The vapor was administered for three min
utes, when the patient became unconscious
the operator then proceeded, the inspiration
being continued Standing myself on one
side of the patient, while the operator was on
the other, so entirely tranquil was she, that |
was not aware the operation had begun, until
it was nearly completed
Nov 21st, an Operation was performed by
Dr.. J. Mason Warren on gentleman for the
removal of a tumor, which covered nearly the
half of the front of the right thigh. The pa
tent lying upon a bed, the vapor was admin
istercd by Dr. Morton in the presence of Drs
Charles 7. Jackson, Reynolds, j. V. c, Smith
Flagg, Gould, Shuttleff, Lawrence, Parsons
Briggs, and others. After he had breathed
the vapor for three minutes his head fell, and
he ceased to respire it but presently awak
ing, the inhalation was renewed till he again
appeared in;en3ible, The operation wa.