The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1868-03-25
STANTON, VIRGINIA.
Wednesday Morning, s: March Is, 1868
Wonders of Modern Surgery.

Wonders of Modern Surgery.
The progress of modern surgery is most in
terestingly discussed in an article in the March
number Of the Atlantic Monthly The first
great and radical step in modern progress, was
in the introduction Of what the doctors call
anesthetic agents Ether was brought into
use on the Both of March, 1854, by Dr. Nor
ton, of Boston, who extracted tooth from
man without pain, by first putting him under
the influence of ether Dr.. c.. jackson, the
geologist, claims to have made the first sugses-
ton Of ether, and did, PROFESSIONALLY, suggest
great caution in the use of it. Chloroform
was discovered by Sir. J. Y. Simpson, sur
geon of Edinburgh, Scotland, on November
| 4th, 1S47. Now no operation of magnitude
| is performed without the aid Of insensibility
to pain, produced either by ether, chloroform,
or some other anesthetic agent, 1t seems as
far back as the thirteenth century the idea Of
painless operations was carefully considered,
but though treated by one Theodric, was APP
parently laid aside as practically useless
The chief effort 81 the old surgeons was
| apparently to produce insensbility in the
subjects in inficting suffering. By the local
application Of sufficient degree Of cold. in
senslbility can be produced in any desired
| part, so that man with most exquisitely
painful wound on his arm, OF felon on his fng-
er, can now look quietly down, in his perfect
senses, upon the knife as it enters his own body
and performs the most difficult operations
without giving him the least pain Modern
coianca hoe oopctructod ~, l..
which vapor Of Ether, or other volatile sub
stance, is thrown out in the form Of spray,
| which so rapidly absorbs the natural heat Of
the body exposed to its operations as to pro-
duce perfect insensibility to pain, without the
loss of yolition or consciousness. This evap-
Grafton is SO potent that the great Faraday
was able to produce ice in red hot crucibfe.
| DR.. Henry j. Bigelow, Of Boston, has intro
dueed the use Of rhigolene, product of pc
troleuM, which is extremely volatile, and vii!
freeze up the skin and textures beneath in
few seconds, fifteen degrees of cold below
zero being easily produced in a few minutes
/ Artificial legs and arms are now manufac
tured which are light and have all the move
ments Of natural joints, by means Of springs,
cords, and wheels, and are SO perfectly adapt
ed to use that it is by no means easy to dis
cover which is the natural and which is the
artificial limb, when the wearer is once used
to wearing the work of art. One man boasts,
sl can carry an armtul Of wood quite handi:
| ", s or s'carry pail of water with ease p and
another says, 81 was fitted with pair of ar
tifcial hands, and can feed myself very we'll
with them also can write SO as to be read"
Another declares he has driven a horse $50
miles on the e9ldest day without calling On
his other hand for assistance" This is a
great Improvements on the iron hook which
is the best substitute that old surgery could
afix to the stump. These artificial limbs,
however, are triumphs of mechanical ingenu,
ity, rather than Of surgery.
"A French surgeon has invented an ipstru-
ment he calls the ERAsEUR, or crusher, to
perform operatiaas dangerous in surgery on
account Of the loss Of blood from the smaller
vessels if performed with a knife It is form
ed OF fine chain gathered into loop, which
enclose the part to be removed, and BY turn
ing screw the chain is frightened until the
parts are separated The blunt chain SO
turns up or twists the ends of the blood vessel
that Eemorrhage is prevented a child was
born with tongue SO much too long that it
protuded three or four inches from her mouth.
4 SO that she could not masticate food or shut
her mouth Or speak. Yet when about fifteen
years OLD, under the influence of chloroform.
the eraseur was applied, the 1superguous por-
lion OF the tongue removed, and now she
talks, sings and eats with ease
The eye Is now examined by an instrument
called the opthalmascope, by which the depths
OF the globe OF the eye can be readily and
FULLY explored, and through its aid a great
deal OF what has been written and copiectar-
ed about diseases Of the eye has been found
to be wrong. The Intricate passages Of the
ear, the nose, the whole Of tie windpipe and
passage OF the lungs are now carefully explor
cd. Perhaps one OF the best results of mod
efn science has been through what is called
conservative surgery, the rule of which is to
save all that possibly can be saved from the
a,mputatlng knife Many of our brave sol
dlers complained of the reckless haste with
which, IN the late var, some surgeons you'd
cut on arms and legs on account Of triainc
wounds The complaint was often Just :
But one ct the nost distinguished surgeons
IN the world has lately written: "At KINGS
oolleSe 1t IS rare to see an amputation in
nine cases out of ten, excisicn Cor cutting out
Of the diseased portion Of the limb) should be
performed In its stead" A poor bow at the
West was caught under a falling log and his
! leg broken, crushed, and twisted upon itself
at right angles with his thigh the bones pro-
truding through the flesh, and no doctor near.
he llyed, and was, after Veeks of suffering.
taken to hospital. Modern conservative sur,
gerry sawed off the portruding bones, turned
me leg PACK again toits place, and put on an
| instrument to keep it Of equal length with
the other, and now that boy stands, runs and
jumps with two sound legs, instead Of ampu-
Fatlng the limb, as the old fashioned surgery
would have done
Men change. but truth never The sweer
OF time bears on its surface thousand aoaft.
ing things, but in its calm and TRANQUIL
depths lie unmoved the pearls and diamoads
which beauty coSets and wisdom labors t.
secure. s'i