Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-07-29

1 ne consulting surgeons SOON hhtlhutu IOeln-
selves that the bad symptoms had been caused
by the partial checking in the flow of pus,
and that it would be better to leave the Pres
ident undisturbed till morning rather than
excite and fatigue him by an examination.
and he was therefore left undisturbed for the
night.
The Abscess Opened.
The first news of Sunday was that DR.. Ag-
new had performed a favorable operation to
relieve gathering of pus, and that the sur
geons were well satisfied with the result and
with the condition in which the operation
had left the President. The examination
which led to the operation had revealed the
existence Of pus cavity three or four inches
within the wound. This was reached by an
incision made about three inches below the
opening OF the wound at a depth Of about an
inch. The cavity was reached and the &c
cumulated pus was discharged. This cavity
is described as partial abscess formed at an
evident change in the direction of the track
of the ball, and the incision gives a more di-
rect discharge for the deeper portions of the
wound than the opening where the ball en-
tered. The operation was very quickly and
skilfully performed by DIR. Agnew. He speed
lily discovered the sac and pointed out its To-
cation and it was at once determined to open
it. The President did not wish to take chic
EOlOIul Ut tlutEs huu III HIS COuulllOu tue
physicians did not consider it safe to use an
aniesthetic. An external spray Of ether was
used, but this only slightly deadened the pain.
The President bore the operation without
hinching. The first stroke of the knife dis
charged the abscess. 1t lay little less than
two inches from the surface. The relief to
the President was very great, and he spoke
of it as greater than any other which he had
experienced from the first. After the opera
ton the Presidents general condition soon
began to improve. Dr. Hamilton said that
| he regarded the Presidents condition as emil
nently encouraging and DIR. Reyburn said at
the same time that he regarded the President
as back where he was before the relapse,
with the exception that there had been loss
| of strength. During the operation the pulse
reached n high point but it very speedily
fell, directly the relief incident to the opening
of the cavity was given. With the aid of
probe and pair of forceps, drainage tube,
which is a small flexible tube of rubber, per-
forated 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 per
| forations it could escape from either end and
was repeatedly washed out with a weak soiu-
ton Of carbolc acid and water which was
thrown through the tube in stream.
The Cause OF the Alarming symptoms.
The explanation given by the attending
| surgeons of the unfavorable symptoms which
manifested themselves in the Presidents case
Saturday is briefly as follows Some time
Friday night, or early Saturday morning, the
patients wound, which had for several days
been discharging freely, became obstructed
at or near the inner end of the drainage tube
while the process of suppuration in the deep
| err parts of the wound continued. A partial
or complete pus cavity was thus formed, and
the discharge from the mouth of the wound
| nearly ceased. The natural result of this
| state of things was a chill, followed by high
| er fever, the patients pulse rising to a maxi
mum of about 1870, and his temperature to
| 1O4 As rgor, followed by increased fever,
| is n symptom of pygmia, of the formation of
an abscess, and of other unfavorable compli-
| cations, it caused at first a good deal of anx-
iety. A careful examination, however, of
the pus discharged by the wound showed that
its character was perfectly normal and healthy;
and, so far as appeared from the patients
general condition, all of the indications of
py@mia were absent. These facts relieved at
| once the fear of blood poisoning.
Great excitement prevailed in Washington
on Saturday. The streets in the vicinity of
| the Executive Mansion were crowded with
| people and anxious throngs surrounded the
| bulletin boards. The feeling toward Guiteau,
which to a great extent had died away, was
renewed, and the most bitter denunciations
against him were made.
The Location of the Bullet.
DIR. Hamilton said Tuesday evening :
| From the examination which made yester-
| day and the day before, / consider it almost
certain that the ball has lodged in the lower
part of the Presidents abdomen on the right
| side. There is at this point defined hard
ness, due probably to an area of Inflammation
around the ball, which point is tender upon
| pressure and quite distinctly circumscribed.
| As the point is situated twelve or fifteen
inches from the point of the entrance of the
ball, it cannot be sought for or extracted
through its original track nor can it safely
be reached at present by direct incison. The
time may arrive when it may be, or, what is
more probable, the ball may gradually change
its position, passing lower down in the alb
| dominal cavity, and make its exit by some of
the natural outlets of the body. DIR. Bliss
adheres to his original opinion that the ball
passed through the liver and is lodged low
down in the anterior wall of the abdomen.
Monday and Tuesday.
hoAhhl was u GOuAlOfAhDlc uhl lOf lub
| President and there were no new develop
ments. During Monday night he suffered
from increased fever and restlessness, but on
Tuesday morning it was found that this dis
turbed condition had resulted from the pres
sure of small splinters of bone in the wound
which were removed at the morning dressing.
The taking out of these splinters was a very
simple matter, and removed one more source
Of irritation, gave freer egress to the dis
charge, and, as a natural consequence, i'm
proved his general condition. The opera
ton" if operation it can be called, was moth
ing more than aseertaining by the insertion
of a ringer into the wound where the sharp
slivers of bone were located, and then sliding
pair of bullet forceps along the finger as
guide, getting hold of a splinter and with
drawing finger, forceps and splinter together.
There was nothing in the operation to weaken
the patient or to cause unusual pain. The
President shortly afterward fell asleep, and
had a nap of half an hour, from which he
awoke refreshed. He took nourishment, con-