The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1881-09-30
DIR. BLISS SPEAKS.
He Defends the Treatment of the
Presidents Case.
THE WOUND MORTAL FROM THE
BEGINNING.

New YoRK. Sept. % DIR. Bliss, in an inter
view with New York Herald reporter last
night, in reply TO a question as to how the
course of the ball happened to be so different
from what the surgeons supposed, said.
A ball entering the human body passes
through tissues of various density, and coDse
qnently the lines of direction are different
The more friaole tissues yield to the missilt
traversing them, while the denser tissues Will
often defect the ball more or less, dropping
into the track of the ball, closing it against ex
ploration. This presents one of the promi
uent difficulties in passing probe. 1t would
not ha We been possible to extract the ball
There was no instrument known to the profes'
non that could have traced the track, II We
mad known what that track was. The ball
struck the rib, was DETECTED at right angles
toward the body of the first lumber vertebrB.
aud perforated it, Ii that course had beef
Enown, and we had attempted to go In there
oy turning the probe, the only way to have FOL
iowee the track would have been to remove
4omething like an inch and a half out OF the
rib Suppose that had been done, and we hst
got down to the point of impact in the verte-
ora, we should have thought perhaps. it wa
lodged there, but we could not have gone far
ther That would have been serious compli-
cation of the wound, and if such an operation
had been performed he would not have lived
one-thrd Of the time he did.
Asked if the President suffered from pse
mia he said mot If l know what pyBmia
is. l cannot give technical statement which
would be understood and appreciated by the
lay public will, however, say that what i
recognized as septic@mia, simple pyBmia aBe
metastatic pyBmia are all different grades OF
blood poisoning. In septieRmia OF the simple
variety, the changes in the organs are bui'
slight, although they give rise to fever and
generally some disturbance of the digestive
apparatus. In simple pysemia the serious mem
branes become involved, such as those around
the heart, lungs, intestines, end often the
membranes lining the joints become ntiamed
and snppurate. In metastatic py@mia. or the
more formidable variety, there are metastatic
abscesses-- that is, assesses that change in the
locality of the sore to other parts of the body.
appearing often in the liver, lungs, kidneys
and spleen. While / was constantly watching
for the most serious varieties of blood poison
ing failed to detect them, and the results OF
the autopsy failed to demonstrate the existence
of single metastatic abscess in any of the or
gaDs named. There was a small abscess or
the front surface of the left kidney, which was
Just in the track of the ball, and, in my opin-
ion, it was due to the injury. Again, the alb
scess was situated on the surface, rather than
in the substance of the organ, again indicating
the absence of pyRmia. The history of the
Inflammation of the parotid gland was NOT
such as accompanies q metastatic abScess. Ii
progressed very slowly, and for the first five
days did not in any way, disturb the system
Neither was their either pal or discomfort
when it eliminated in suppuration. The dis
charge, too, was laudable, or healthy pus, and
the cuts made healed readily, while the swell
ing, as we'll as the suppurating, surface healed
quickly This is not the history of metastatic
Assesses, and the symptoms can be accounted
for in another way.
The Doctor, when asked If at any time he
had strong hopes of the Presidents recovery.
said:
aYes. AS the case was diagnosed, he should
have recovered. I believed in that diagnosis
up to near the time of bis death. Ninety nine
cases out of hundred injured, as we supposed
him to have been. should recover. II had
cumprehended fully the nature of the injuries
I should, at no period of the case, have had
the slightest hope of his recovery, for the
wounds were mortal, and under such circum-
stances should have told his family that he
could not survive When the reaction was
complete on Sunday morning, July 3, the Pres
ident, laying his hand on my arm, calmly
asked me what thought, professionally, OF
his case. / said it was impossible for us to de-
termine the exact course of the ball, adding
that thought it had penetrated the liver. |
told him that many persons whose liver had
been injured had recovered, and one under
my own treatment. Consequently, said to
hin, there is one chance for yon.' His reply
has become historical, We'll, Doctor, We will
take that one chance Now, from the prog
ress of the case during the succeeding ten
days. every evidence was in favor of recov cry
as regards the performance of all the import
that none of the important organs had been in
volved in the injuries. One fact is of impor
lance here TO note, that the condition of the
President, during the period of collapse, was
such as to assure that any severe handling,
probing, or exploration of the wound. would
have produced fatal results Then, when the
reaction calle on, we were convinced that such
handling would have produced some Of the
evils we were trying to avoid
what was the Presidents behavior. as
patient throughout the case" asked the re-
porter.
SIT was simply remarkable. He was the
most heroic patient ever attended, He wac
patient and never complained during the en-
tire eighty DAYS; never flinched under the
knife; was always submissive to whatever we
deemed necessary, and acquiesced in our treat
ment without question or argument"
WAS he unconscious any considerable por
ton of the time?'
mo. Sometimes, in Lis waking moments,
he would appear somewhat dazed, but he was
readily recalled to consciousness on being spok-
en- to-"
"Did he often talk or express desire to con
verse on national affairs?'
stNot often, as he was very sick man and
knew it; but occasionally he would express
his anxiety to know how the affairs OF the
country were progressing"
Did he ever complain of pain in the back?"
"He never did, and that was very singular
feature in the case"