New-York tribune., 1881-09-17
DIR. J. MARION sIMs's OPINIONS.

HOW THE NEWS OF THE ATTACK oN THE PRESIDENT
WAS RECEIVED IN PARIs-TREAIMENr OF GUN
SHOT WOUNDS.
DR.. j. Marion Sims returned from Europe yester-
day on the steamship Republic His health has
been almost completely restored. and when TRIB-
UNE reporter called on him last evening he was in
the best of spirits. DR.. Sims was In Paris when lac
heard the of the attempted assassination of
the President. ; caking of the attack he said !:
THE excitement among the American resdcn in
Paris was greater probably than 1t was in this
country, because the bad news seemed to he ntcn-
sitied by the distance. The first dispatches we re-
ceiyed said that the President had been shot
through the abdomen, and that the ball had lodged
III the front wall of the cavity Death
was looked for almost hourly. but
after the frs sixty hours had passed and the Pres-
dent still lived, | was able in part to relieve the
anxiety. | knew then that the ball had been de-
fected and had passed into the soft parts where it
would not do much mischief. The absccss IN the
parotid gland only the first manifestation Of
blood poisoning, just the absccss III the lower
part OF the right lung is another evidence of the
same thing.
"My first dispatch, in which suggested that tho
abdomen suould be opened, has been severely
criticised. did not what was printed in this
country until to-day and find that il was exactly
WbaI san 10 the correspondent. based that t"lc
gram on the sn position that the ball had passed
through the abdomen. ! am to read 10 pa er on
Octobcr H. 1881, mt the Academy Oi Medicine, in
this city, on injuries aud wounds to the abdom NAL
cavity, and II vii incidentally lead t, discussion
OF the Presidents case. The views advocate are
novel ana have arrived at my conclusions entirely
by our experience in other operat ions the kid
ncys spleen and liver, well upon other Organs
All of these have been operated upon successfully
and take the ground that we could in the same
way, treat any other injury to the peritoneal cavity
even gunshot wounds. Wounds of the perltOneum
have the same course to run, whether they made
ny the SURGEONS nIfc or by accident. II IL gcncr-
ally supposed that gunShot wounds of the abdo-
ron mar mi In oil fTn-
shot wounds have ever seen, whether at Sedan or
III private practice the patients have died of septi
cemia ana not OF peritonitis, n condition that is
remedial by oprratlon and proper treatment. The
wounds as | advocated, but we open it every
day for the removal of tumOrs connected
with all the organs. OF tins kind of cases, 07 out of
100 recover As "a rule, every man who is shot
through the abdomen dies if the intestine IL
wounded and the only hope of saving such cases is
in opening the abdomen and rene lying the INJURIES
done TO the alimentaly canal. | am satisfied that
the success OF operations upon gunshOt wounds of
the abdomen viii be great as the success of
operations inovariotomy now is"
Have you anything to suggest as to the treat
ment OF the President ~ the reporter asked
NO. think g President has had the services of
!he BEST medical men III the world. No meh
III the profession are superior to Drs Barnes, Wood
ward Hamilton and Agnew. 1t is now a fight be-
tween waste and supply If he eau take sufficient
nutrition to supply the waste in his system he will
get through"
don ~ N'0'''''0 - i''''
Yes. was not very strong but was glad that
department of med cine, and shall have an oppor-
tunlty OF 'akng of the improvements made in my
department, surgery, when read my paper before
the Academy of Medicine"