The Republican journal., 1881-07-28

sequence.
1t was at first thought the distractions
might be the result of a process Of healing
which had wholly or in part closed the
wound between the end Of the drainage
/ tube and deeper suppuration surface.
Early in the afternoon, however, the
obstruction wholly or partially gave way,
| the outflow Of pus became treer, the nau
sea from which the patient had suffered
subsidized. and he obtained relief. This
proved that the obstruction had not been
Of a permanent character.
Drs Hamilton and Agnew arrived dur
ing the evening and held consultation
with the surgeons, but did not think it
advisable at that time to make an cNamin-
alton OF the patient.
| During the night the patient was rest
less and had another slight chill, but in
| the morning his temperature was about
normal. On consultation the surgeons
| decided to make a new outlet for the pus,
| and accordingly an incision was made
Through the lntegument of the back to the
| bullet and a drain pipe inserted. \ flow
of puS followed and the Presidents symp-
| toms soon began to grow better and con
! tlnued to improve throughout the day and
| night.
WHAT DIR. BLISS SAYS.
DR.. Bliss during the course Of CONVEX
sation in relation to the operation which
was performed on the President, said
| that during his examination he discover
ed that a slight sack or pus cavity had
| formed immediately at the turn in the
track of the bullet and at once decided
the proper thing to do WAS to make an
| incislon, which would straighten the trac,l
and permit the pus to discharge more
freely. 1t was determined, however, that
! before performing the operation il would
be best to notify the consulting surgeons
and request their attendance, which was
done forthwith. The formation of pus
cavity, the doctor says, is a very ordinary
occurrence in similar instances, and there
is no doubt in his mind an incision will
| tend to lessen the frequency and severity
of the rigors. He says, however, the
patient may have some slight chills
"The result ct the examination contin-
ued DIR. Bliss, sis reassurlng." During
the operation his pulse reached about
l2O. Since that time there has been Il
falling off OF about fifteen beats. The
| President dld not move muscle while
| the operation was being performed, and
| 1t was not found necessary to administer
any alcoholic stlmulants. The counter
opening is about three inches below the
wound. 1t was necessary to cut to Il
depth Of about one inch before the con-
nection with the original wound was com
plete. \ local anHsthesia was admins
! tered causing Il numbness Of the parts
| tod which nh,-i.l+aI tb, ny
perience OF any pain. Shortly after the
operation the patient partook of nourish-
ment with a relish and expressed himself
as feeling much relieved by the operation.
DIR. EEYBrRN's STATEMENT.
Upon being asked whether there was
or had been any symptoms in the prcsi-
| dents case of pyeania OF blood poisoning,
DR.. Reyburn said "None whatever.
| RigOr, Of course, may be Il symptom of
pyeamia, but it is also Il symptom of
| various other complications and does not
point to pyeamia in the Presidents case
The pus continues healthy and the char
| acterlstic symptoms Of pyeamia are all
wanting. You may say upon my author
| ity that no indications of blood poisoning
have been observed, and that have no
reason 10 expect any.
In conclusion DR.. Reyburn said that the
Presidents condition and symptoms are
more encouraging.
THE OPERATION.
A Washington special says: Dr. Ag-
new was selected to perform the opera
ton He located the cavity, and made
an incison about an inch and Il half be-
low the opening Of the wound. The pus
cavity was occasioned by an irritation
from splinters of the injured rib, and had
no connection with the main canal formed
by the bullet, which has worked freely
The cut was about an inch and half
long, and not exceeding an inch in depth.
The injured rib was found to be bent, and
there is now consultation as to whether
any attempt shall be made to straighten
it. The new opening has thoroughly
discharged the pus cavity, and will of
course be kept open. An ether spray
was used upon the wound when the oper-
alton was performed, but none was ad-
mlnlstered otherwise. DR.. AgneW was
well satisfied with the result Dr. Ham
ilton says he has strong hopes that the
dl11lculty has been removed, and that the
progress toward recovery will recon-
mence
Mrs. Garfield, who had been intensely
uneasy, was relieved when she heard Of
the successful result of the operation upon
the President. She, with all the others
in the Executive Mansion, even if the
doctors did not speak of it above their
breath, was afraid of blood poisoni ng,
and she did not feel easy until the pus
p1Vitv ha1 ham licnnroroI
llton, soon after the operation, sought
Mrs Garfield and said: "The operation
has been successful, the pus cavity is dis
covered, and we now have no fear of
blood poisoning from this cavity. We
are confident that we shall be able now
to keep the wound better drained. You
must not be apprehensve if there are
more chills. We somewhat expect them
There will be more chills if there is
another gathering of pus, or another
cavity is formed, which may be possible,
but from the operation and the observa-
ton, we think it safe to say, that the
grave cause of alarm which has existed
for the past two days, is removed"
DR.. Agnew afterward saw Mrs. G. and
confirmed the report that DR.. Hamilton
made to her
Gen. Swain said Sunday night the
President is improving now and we think
this last danger met and overcome.
never saw country without some hills
and valleys, and | never saw any very
sick or badly wounded man who did
not have his ups and downs. The Presi-
dent came to one of the hald places last
Friday night in his road toward recovery,
but we think he is now about over it,
The President passed a comfortable