The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-11-20
A Very Remarkable Case.


the Galveston Neaos tells the following
story of wonderful surgical operation
recently performed in the former city:
San Antonio contains a wonder, the
like of which cannot be found in the
United States. 1t is nothing more nor
less than child, seven years old, that,
instead of masticating and swallowing
its food in the usual manner, is fed
through an aperture in the stomach
made for that purpose. The child, is
gaining strength, can walk and play,
and bids fair to soon be as stout and
healthy as any other child. On Satur-
day last l determined to 90 andssee the
child myself. The facts are as follows;
About two years ago Mr.. S. T. Lumley,
at that time living in Pennsylvania, had
the misfortune to have his little daugh-
ter Jessie drink a solution of I've, which
a negro woman had carelessly left on
the table. A large quantity of the cor.
rosive liquid was swallowed. Death is
the certain result in such cases. There
have been quite number of cases in
San Antonio, where children drank
concentrated I've, and none have sur
vived except in this instance. The I've
destroyed the mucous membrane, and
a structure of the esophagus is formed,
which means that the throat, or, at
least, the channel through which the
food goes into the stomach, is drawn
together or contracted to such a degree
that only liquids, and not much of them,
can pass through. If the child does not
die at once, it fingers for year or 50
and then goes into a c0nsumptive con-
dition and perishes of slow starvation.
1t is impossible for human being to
live exclusively on liquid nourishment;
but where concentrated I've has been
taken there are times, particularly in
cold, damp weather, when the sufferer
cannot even swallow milk. All attempts
to open the closed up esophagus are
futile, hence the sufferer slowly starves
to death.
Such was the condition of the little
girl Jessie Lumley when she was
brought to San Antonio for treatment.
The child was very much emaciated,
could not swallow even liquid food for
days at time. AS it was the only pos
sible chance she had for life, her par
ents consented that the operation of
making an opening in the stomach
should be attempted. The operation
has been performed in England, but
this is believed to be the first time it
has been attempted in the United
States. Your correspondent cannot
give the technical terms, but can make
the modus operandi Ineligible to the
general reader. An incision four inches
long was made few inches to the left
of the pit of the stomach at the begin
ming of the short ribs, much stitching
being required. Through this incision
the stomach is reached. The next part
of the operation requires the most deli
cate handling imaginable. It consists
in sewing the stomach to the walls of
the abdomen, but the greatest care has
to be taken not to penetrate the stOm-
ach itself. The needle and stitches
only penetrate the skin of the stomach.
The result is that the stomach, as the
wound gradually heals, grows to the
walls of the abdomen.
The patient. was put under the influ-
ence of chloroforln, and the operation
successfully performed by DIR. +. Herf,
assisted by his son, DIR. John Herf, and
DIR. Amos Graves, all of this city. I'm
fortunately, the child had an attack of
chills and fever, which had to be cured,
which gave it setback. The opera
ton described took place three weeks
ago. The stomach had grown on to the
sides of the abdomen, and eight days
ago the final operation of making a
small incision into the stomach, through
which the food was to pass, was per-
formed, and twice day during the
past week beefsteak, cut up fine, has
been passed with the forceps into the