Smyrna times., 1881-07-27
President Garfield.
A SERIOUS RELAPSE.

! A SERIOUS RELAPSE.
Saturday morning, three weeks from the
dav on which President Garfield received
! the wound from which he has since been
suffering, symptoms appeared which caused
much anxiety. He had a severe chill, fol-
flowed by increased fever and the discharge
from the wound was much diminished
The consulting physicians, Doctors Hamil-
ton and Agnew, were summoned by tele-
graph, and went to Washington by special
train and held a consultation with the at
tending physicians between s and 9 o'clock
p. NJ, but as the President was then Sleep
ing comfortably, the consulting physicians
did not visit his room until later. But the
President grew more restless, and near
midnight, he had another attack On
Sunday morning a consultation was held
with Doctors Hamilton and AgneW at
which it was resolved to make a counter
incisiOn in the back about three inches
below the wound, which the doctors hope
will facilitate the discharge of puss that
had been stepped in the wound, and in
crease the chances of his recovery The
President bore the operation without finch
ing, and was much relieved by it, and
shortly after partOOk of nOurishment with
a relish, and expressed himself as being
much relieved by the operation. In ex-
/ formed by DR.. Agnew, and the necessity for
it, DIR. Rayburn made in substance the
following statemen:
1.-THE direction taken by the ball after
it entered the body was forward and
slightly downward until it struck one of
the ribs. 1t was thence detected still
! further downward and a little to the right
! so as to make and acute angle with the
! line of the back. In other words, when n
probe was introduced into the wound to a
! depth of three or three and half inches
! its direction was such that its inner end
was only about an inch and half from
the outside of the body at Il point lower
| down. The examination which was made
in the presence of Drs. Agnew and Hamil-
ton showed that pus cavity had formed
i'll the track of the ball near and beyond
where it glanced from the rib, and that
this cavity could be reached by direct
incisiOn three inches below the mouth of
| the wound. 1t was decided at once to
/ perform the operation. No an;psthetics
were used, but the part to be operated
upon was benumed by the spray of ether.
and IL wide cut was made into the pus
cavity, which was reached at a depth of a
little more than an inch. With the aid of
probe ahd Il pair of forceps a drainage
tube, which is a small flexible tube of
rubber perforated with holes, was then
introduced into the wound made by the
ball, and, after being carried through the
pus cavity, was brought out through the
newly made incision. One end of the tube
then projected from the cut made by the
surgeons knife, and the other from the
mouth of the original wound. As the pus
OOzed into the tube through the perfora-
tions, it could escape from either end and
was repeatedly washed out with a weak
solution of carbOlic acid and water, which
was thrown through the tube in q stream.
The discharge which followed the opening
of the pus cavity was entirely satisfactory
to the surgeons and was soon followed BY
relief to the prtient.
The drainage tube has been left as il was
originally placed and will remain there
! for the present. If the wound discharges
freely through the new opening, the tube
may perhaps be withdrawn from the old
one in order to allow the latter to heal
The lncision made is in direct line with
the deeper parts of the wound, and it is
thought that the pus will escape through
1t without any of the obstruction which
lmpeded its outflow along the track of the
ball and which caused the pus cavity"
In reply to the question whether another
pus cavity is likely to form and bring
about recurrence Of the alarming symp.
toms of yesterday, DR.. Reybun said:
Il cannot answer positively, but as the
pus now has free egress do not think it
| probable that another cavity will form"
Upon being asked whether there were
or had been any symptoms in the Presi-
dents case Of pyaemia or blood d-poisoning
DIR. Reyburn said
None whatever; rigos, af course, may
be symptom of fpy@mia, but it is also a
symptom of various other complications,
and it does not point to pyamia in the
present case, The pus continues healthy,
and the characteristic symptoms of pyamia
are all wanting. You may say upon my
authority that no indications of blood.
poisoning have been observed. and that
we have no reason to expect any,"
There has been more or less gloom at
the White House every day since Tuesday.
During the dressing of the wound several
splinters of bone from the fractured rib
were removed. The President still has
some relish for food, and suffers but little
from gastric irritation. The recurring
fever and the extreme weakness of the
patient seem to be the most unfayOrable
symptoms The late dispatches are far
more encouraging. DIR. Hamilton says
the chances are in his favor and thinks he
will get well.