The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-07-22
THE OPERATION UPON SENATOR SUMNER.

DIR. Brown-Sequard, the principal physician
in attendance upon Mr.. Sumner, has made pub
lie a memorandum of the late diagnosis made
by him, which resulted in the decision to apply
fire to the neck and spine. His general health
and the operation in question are thus de-
scribed
"From the outset, Mr.. Sumner has, so to
speak, undervalued the seriousness of his
condition. AT the time of the assault upon
him, he did not comprehend the full extent and
nature OF the injury received, and has lived
from that time to the present in the constant
hope of an early restoration to O sound state of
health. On coming abroad this time, he was
counting mainly on the curative inAuenc. of
travel, exercise in the open air, and absence of
that excitement on home affairs which he could
not escape in America. At Paris, he met DIR.
George Hayward, the eminent Boston surgeon.
who, in view of his present condition. at once
urged active treatment that is, the applca-
tion of a system of counterr ritants, in order to
reach the malady in the cerebral system and in
the spine
With the sanction of DR.. Hayward, Mr..
Sumner then put himself in the hand of Dr.
brown-Sequard, the celebrated Psychologist, 80
well known in England and America, (who, by
the way, should be better known to our medical
men by the newly founded Journal de Ia Plus
aOlOgie de rHomme ct des Animaur, of which
he is editor whose specially is practicing
physiclan IN diseases of the spine and nervous
system. DIR. Brown-Sequard's careful and
acute investigation of the case resulted in a
diagnosis which, if yours we're medical instead
of q general journal, should be inexcusable
for not giving in detail from the memoranda
before me. Suffice it for the lay reader, to saw
the brain itself lie ascertained to be free of any
serious remaining injury, but the effects of the
original commotion there are still manifest in
an efusion of liquid about the brain, and in q
slight degree of congestion, chiefly if not onlv
confined to the membrane around the brain
1t was also found that the spine was sufferino
In two places, from the effect of what is called
contre corp. Mr.. Sumner being seated and in
clined over his derk at the time of the assault
the blows on his head took effect BY counter
stroke, or communicated shock in the spine. |
is worth noting here, that after the lapse o
more than two years, his sufferings to-day indi
cate the peculiar nature of the assault but oh
serve that the spinal cord is sound, the injur
being in the spine itself.
"Dr. Brown Sequard agrees with Dr. Hay
ward as to the necessity of an active treatment
doubling very much whether any degree of car
of lapse OF time, unless the morbid condition O
the system be directly acted upon, would no
always leave the patient exposed to relapse
He proceeded, therefore, at once to apply fir
to the back of the neck and along the spine
Now, FIRE is fre, and the quality of it is to burn
as surely as the property of rain is to wet. AT,
here cannot do better than to quote entire
note have just received from M. Sequard:
al think you will like to be able to say tina
have told you that have applied six mora
to Senator Summers neck and back, and tina
he has borne these 6rceedingly painful applca
tions with the greatest courage and patience
You know that moxa is q burning of the ski
witt inAamed sgaric, (amadost,) cotton wool
or some other very combustible substance.
had never seen man bearing with such for
titude, as Mr.. Sumner has shown, the extreme
ly violent pain of this kind of burning
"Soyou see the morale is sound. In hi