The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1862-10-24
Engineering and Surgery.
A CURIOUS CASE.

The following account of a continuance to
effect his own relief from the results of an ac-
cident is related in the life of the younger
Brunei. 1t is exceedingly curious as connect.
ed with his profession, that of an engineer:
The most extraordinary accident which be-
fel him was that which occurred while one day
playing with his children. Like his father,
Sir Mare, he was fond of astonishing them l,y
Straightforward tricks, in which he displayed
considerable dexterity and the feat which he
proposed to them on this occasion was the
passing ola half-sovereign through his mouth,
out at his ear. Unfortunately, he swallowed
the coin, which dropped into his windpipe.-
The accident occurred on the Sd of April
1913, and it was followed by frequent fits of
coughing, and occasional uneasiness in the
right side of the chest; but so slight was the
disturbance of breathing, that it was for some
time doubted whether the coin had really fall
len into the windpipe. After lapse OF fifteen
days, Sir Benjamin Brodie met Mr.. Key in
consultation, and they concurred in the opin-
ion that most probably the half sovereign was
lodged at the bottom of the right bronchus.
The day after, Mr.. Brunei placed himself in
a prone position on his face upon some chairs,
and, bending his head and neck downwards,
distinctly felt the coin drop towards the glot-
It's. A violent cough ensued, and On resum-
ing the erect posture he felt as if the object
again moved downward into the chest Here
was an engineering difficulty, the like of
which MIR. Brunei had never before encoun-
tered. The mischief was purely mechanical
foreign body had got into his breathing ap-
paratus, and must be removed, if at all, by
some mechanical expedient. Mr. Brunei was,
however, equel to the occasion. He had an
apparatus constructed, consisting of plat
folm which moved upon hinge in the centre.
Upon this he had himself strapped and his
body was then inverted in order that the
coin might drop downward by its own weight
and SO be expelled. At the first experiment
the coin again slipped towards the CLOTHS,
but it caused such an alarming fit of convul-
sive coughing and appearance of choking,
that danger was apprehendetl, and the expert
ment was discontinued. Two days after on
the 18th, the operation of tracheotomy was
performed by Sir Benjamin Brodie, assisted
by MIR. Key with the intention of extracting
the coin by the forceps, if possible. Two at
tempts to do so were made without success.
The introduction of the forceps into the wind
with SO excessive degree of irritation that
it was felt the experiment could not be con-
tinued without imminent danger to life. The
incision in the windpipe was, however, kept
open, by means of quill or tube, until the
18th of May, by which time Mr.. Brunel's
strength had sufficiently recovered to enable
the original experiment to be repeated. He
was again strapped to his apparatus; his
tody was inverted his back was struck gent
ly; and he distinctly felt the coin quit its
place on the right side of his chest. The
opening in the windpipe allowed him to
breathe while the throat was stopped by the
coin, and it thus had the effect of preventing
the spasmodc action of the CLOTHS. After a
few coughs the coin dropped into his mouth.
Mr. Brunei used afterwards to say that the
moment VIXEN he heard the gold piece strike
against his upper front teeth was, perhaps,
the most exquisite in his whole life. The
half-sovereign had been in the windpipe for
not less than six weeks.