Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1857-07-18
Remarkable Surgical Operation.

A Mr.. Bell, of Sonora, aged 25, about
two and half months ago, with a number
of others were trying to make little sport.
They put eighteen inches of powder into
an old gun barrel, and hammered in an
iron plug for breechpin, and then applied
a slow match to the wrong end, and the
temporary breechpin struck the side of Mr..
Bell about the middle of the eighth rib
and passed on aud entered the chest by
fracturing the sixth rib. Physicians of
Toulumne county were consulted--could
find he hole but not the thing that made
it, and promised Mr.. Bell, with extreme
probability, a speedy death. He did not
die as soon as he supposed he would, and
concluded to make slight effort to live
He put himself under the charge of DR.. E.
Cooper, of this city. He was assured that
the proposed operation for the removal of
the substance was unusual, and would pro-
badly be fatal-possibly not. But death
without the operation being certain, he
consented to the experiment.
An incision, commencing at the opening
of the skin over the eighth rib was made
four and half inches opgitudinally, and
another three inches transyerscly, and per.
pendicular to the middle of the first; the
flaps Of the 7 were turned back; 9th, 9TH
and sth ribs were exposed; two sections oI
the 9th and 7th-and two inches long eacl
way--and portion of the sth were re-
moved with the saw, and an opening was
thus made sufficiently large to admit two
fingers with facility. An ordinary silver
probe was passed in against the heart
separated from that organ only by its de
licate investing membrane.
The substance was searched for witt
one or two fingers, during which the fingers
J repeatedly came in contact with the palpi
tating heart. The substance not yet ap
pearing, DR.. G. introduced a steel sound
fourteen inches long into the cavity of th
chest and moved its point in all directions
! upwards, downwards, and backwards BY
| turns, frequently gliding it around th'
t vertcles of the heart, and at length fel
that the sound had touched the foreigl
5 substance, without being able to discrimi
nate its character, whether metallic or not
Y in consequence of its being covered witt
!. matter or membrane.
0 Being satisfied it was no portion of tn
e vertebr@, although behind and it'll
b above the apex of the heart, he introduce
" a little tommy forsops, and grasping th
= substance, withdrew it from that greG
depth, and found it to be the piece Of iro
G described above. This was done in til
presence of many physicians, whose name
Q are too numerous to mention.
d The patient did not take ch'orofOrm, nc
y any other anesthetic. a large quantit
t. of bloody matter escaped from the wouut
9 The lungs did not collapse on admission
1t air to the thoracic cavity. There was I
e suspension of animation during or aft
the operation. The patient endured 9
II these necessary but prolonged manipul
le ions with a calmness that was truly sto
Z, we had nearly said stolid-it was
10 entirely free from the manifestation of Il
is agony be must have endured. Five da..
S, after the operation the patient is qui
SO comfortable, conversos freely, and is almo
" free from pain.
If he does not ultimately succumb,
to shall look upon it as one of the most /
II. onishing successes of surgery,