Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1860-05-09

performance of Il difficult surgical operation.-
The skill and attainmcnts of the menical gen tie
men engaged, entite themto the respect and con-
fdencc of the public.
TRINITY Mills, TEXAS,
April %, 1860.
To the editOr ofMe Dallas HcraM:
SIR | desire to lay before the readers of your
paper and the community in general, the history
of a case Of stone in the bladder in which lth-
otomy was successfully performed by B. S. Shell
burnc, Nj. D., of Lebanon, Collin Co., Texas
The patient, Mr. +. McK---y, aged about 90,
Il resident of the town of Denton, in this Sta'e:
OF slender build, sanguine temperament, and
very much emaciated, had been complaining of
the symptoms Of calculus, for the past year. He
visited DR.. Sheiburne for the purpose Of being
examined in regard to his case, and who, after
having minutcly examined him, came to the con-
clus:on, from the diagnosis of the case, that it
was nothing more nor less than calculus, and
that nothing would be of any advantage to him in
the ultimate cure Of the disease, but an opera
tion, to which he readily consented. So the 18th
day of last March was appointed for the opera
ton. Two weeks preceding the operation, he
that used by the justly celebrated DR.. Dudley,
of Lexington, Ky. | was kindly requested by
DR.. Sheburne, to assist him in the operation in
conjunction with Drs. Hughes and Myers of
Denton, and DR.. j. Ii. Fender, of Frankford.-
We all met on the day appointed, which was
very disagreeable and rainy day. and one not at
all suitable for an operation of such a severe ma
ture; and, after short consultation, (each one
being satisfied that there was stone in the blad
der.) we came to the conclusion that the lateral
operation srould be performed.
The patient was placed upon table, in the
usual position for lithotomy, and securely bound;
and thoroughly nut under the Influence of chlo-
roform, by DR.. Hughes DR.. Shelburnc used, in
the operation, the grooved dissector, straight
and probe pointed bistoury, and forceps. lie ex-
extracted a calculus weighing six drachms and
a half, of an oblong shape rough and tubercula-
ted in appearance, and composed mainly of oxa-
late OF lime. and measuring round its largest
circumference, four inches and half, and
round its smallest three inches and half. In
half an hour from the commencement of the ope-
ration, the patient was comfortably placed in bed
and was in very cheerful mood. Very little
blood was lost. and no ligatures were necessary.
In the operation, the Dr. evnccd a remarkable
degree of sef-possesslop, manual skill, and
thorough knowledge cfthe anatomy of the parts
l have seen the operation performed several times
by different surgical celebrities of the older
States and l must confess that have never seen
it performed with more skill or deXterity.
Now, there are some persons, no doubt, who
will say, have written this through personal
motives but must candidly confess that this
is nothing more than a just and merted tribute
Of respect to one of rare surgical skill and at
tainments in medicine.
Up to the present time, the patient has pro-
,resscd without an untoward symptom, and the
ast heard of him, (about fortnight ago) was,
that he was up and walking around the place of
MS residence. ED. NJ. SHEPARD, NJ. d.