Daily national Democrat., 1860-06-17
From the Cornhn (England) Magazine.
AmPutOting Limb under ChIoroform

IA
our metropolitan hospitals, in this year of our
Lord 1860 Notice is posled. thai amnuIn-
tion OF the thigh will be performed nt Two
o'clock p. NJ, and we OCCUPY our sent len
minutes before the hour.
The arena itself is small of n horse-sboa
form, and surrounded 10y seats rising ON n
steep incline one above another. to the pun,-
Der ot eight or ten tiers From 100 20 $50
students occupy these and pack pretty close
", especially on the lower rows whence the
best view is obtained For an assemblage of
youths between eighteen and twenty five
years, who have nothing 10 do but wait, they
are tolerably well behaved and quiet Three
or four practical okers, however, it is eyi
dent, are distributed among them, and so the
time passes all the quicker for the rest. The
clock has not long struck two when the fold.
ing-doOrs open, and in walk two or three of
the leading surgeons of the hospital, followed
10y staff of dressers and a few professional
lockers on; the latter being confined to seats
reserved for them on the lower and inner
most tier. small table, covered with in
struments, occupies place on one side of the
area; water, spenges, towels and lint are
placed on the opposite. The surgeon who is
about to operate, rapidly glances over the
table, and sees that all his instruments are
there and in readiness. He requests col
league to take charge of the tourniquet, and
with word deputies one assistant to "take
the flaps, an other to hold the limb, third
to hand the instruments, and the last to take
charge OF the sponges This done, and
wnlie the patient is inhaling chloroform in an
ADJOINING apartment, under the care of
gentleman who makes that his special duty,
the operator gives to the now hushed and
listening auditory brief history of the cir
eumstances which lead to an incurable dis
ease of the left knee-joint and the reason
why he decides on the operation about to be
performed. He has scarcely closed when
the unconscious patient is brought in bv n
couple OF sturdy porters, and laid upon the
operation table, small but strong and steady
erection, four feet long by two feet wide
which stands in the center Of the area. The
lett being the doomed leg, the right is fasten
ed oy Oandage to one of the supporters of
the Iaole, so as to be out of harms wav
whlle the dresser, who has special charge of
the case, is seated on "a low stool ut the foot
oi the table, and supports the left. The sur.
geoh VINO assists, encircies the upper part of
the thigh with the tourniquet. placing its
pad over the fermal artery, the chief.yessel
which supplies the limb with blood. and pr.-
pares to screw up the instrument, thus to
make sure that no considerable amount of
the vital fluid can lie lost The operator
standing on the left side of the CORRESPONDING
leg ana holding in his right hand a narrow,
straight knife, Of which the blade is al least
ten inches long, and marvellously bright and
sharp. directs his eye to him who gives the
ch!orotorm, ard awaits the signal that the
patient has become perfectly insensible. All
Is silence profound; every assistant stands in
his place, which is carefully arranged so us
MOTTO interrupt the view Of those around.
The words quite ready" are no sooner
whispered, than the operator, grasping firm
ly with his left hand the flesh which forms
the front part of the patients thigh, thrusts
quietly and deliberately the sharp blade hor-
Izontally through the limb, from its outer to
It's inner side, 50 that the thigh is trantiXed
little above its central axis, and in front of
the bone. lie next cuts directly downwardS,
IN the plane of the limb, for about four inch
es, aud then ohlquely outwards, so as to
form flap, which is seized and turned up-
wards ont OF the way, 10y the appointed as
slstant. a similar transhxOn is again made,
commencing at the same spot, but the knife
is this time carried behind the bone; a SINH
lar incsion follows. and another fap is form
ed aud held away as before Lastly, with II
vides all lett uncut; and handing the knife to
an assistant, who takes it. aud gives saw in
return. the operator divides the bone with
few wOrkmaulike strokes, and the limb is
severed from the body. A rusiling sound Of
general movement and deeper breathing is
heard among the loukers-ua, who have fol-
lowed with stralning ard critical eyes every
act which has contributed To the accomplish
ment of the task; and some one of the young
or students is heard to whisper to his neigh
bor, Five aud thirty seconds: not bad, by
Jovel'
The operator now seats himself on the etool
just vacated by the dresser, who has carried
away the leg, and seeks in the cut surfaces
before him the end of the main artery on
which to place ligature There sno flow
of blood, only little oozing. for the tourni-
quet holds lifes current hard and fast Only
live minutes uncontrolled flow of the current
from that great artery, now so perfectly
compressed, and our patients career in .his
world would be closed for ever How is it
permanently held in checkP and what have
we to substitute now for the Kissing. spark
ling, and sputteriug iron, and the boiling
pitchp The operator takes hold of the cut
end of the artery with slender, delicately
made rair of forceps, and draws it out little
while an assistant passes round the end so
drawn out ligature of very fine whipcord,
fine but strong,apd carefully ties it there with
double knot, and so, effectually closes the
vessel. A similar process is applied to per-
haps six or seven other but smaller vessels,
tourniquet is removed but no bleeding enSues
! Altogether the patient has lost little more
than half pint of blood. The flaps are
placed in opposition, the bone is well cover
ed by them, few stitches are put through
their edges some cool wet lint is applied all
around the stump, and the patient, slumber-
ing peacefully, is carried off to a comfortable
bed, ready prepared in some adjacent ward
Half an hour hence that patient will regain
consciousness. and probably the first observa
tion he makes will be, IL am quite ready for
the operation, when is it going to begn3"-
And it takes no little repetition of the assu-
rance that all is over to make him realize the
happy truth.
RESPECT FOR THE DEAD.-On the recent