The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-11-01
Skin Grating.

The patient, pretty. little girl of
eight, was admitted into the Yelling
ton ward of st. Georges hospital with
the history that, two years previously,
her dress had caught fire, burning both
legs from the hips to the knees Sc
yerely. After a years treatment the
left thigh had healed up; but the right
had never got better, and presented a
terrible ulcer, extending all down the
outer side. She was bright, intelli-
gent little thing, and her sad condition
excited much sympathetic interest. For
four months she lay there without any
signs Of improvement. Though nour-
ishing food, with wine and strength
ening medicines was freely admins
tered, and all manner of local remedies
applied, particularly that most excel
lent dressing, carded oakum, all was in
vain; and when, on the 5th of
May, the child was brought into the
operating theatre and placed under the
influence Of chloroform, it certainly
appeared to us to be as unlikely a
case to afford fair criterion of new
treatment as could well be imagined.
Two small pieces of skin were then
shipped from the back with pair of
sharp-pointed scissors, and imbedded-
planted, in fact-in the granulations
of proud "flesh" of the wound
two tiny atoms, scarcely bigger than a
pins head, and consisting of little more
than the cuticle or outer skin which
we raise in blisters by rowing OF ex-
posure to hot sun. Five days later
no change was visible; and by-and-bye
the operation was considered to have
failed, since the pieces of skin had
disappeared, instead of growing, as
had been expected. But twelve days
after the operation two little white
cicatrices appeared where the seeds
had been sown; and in my notes find
that week later these were big
enough to be dignified as "islands of
new tissue" The most wonderful
part of it is that, not only did these
islands grow and increase rapidly in
circumference, but the fact of their
presence seemed to stimulate the
ulcer itself, which forthwith took on a
healing action around it's margin.
Several more gratis were implanted
subsequently, including morsels from
Mr.. Pollock's arm, from my own, and
from the shoulder of negro; the last
producing a white scar-tissue like the
rest. In two months the wound was
healed and the little patient was dis
charged cured.
Skin grating is now performed daily
in surgical practice, and a special in
strument-a combination of knife and
scissors-has been invented for the
purpose. 1t is impossible to estimate
the immense benefit of this discovery
tomankind in many different aspects
Poor people, hitherto incapacitated
from labor by "incurable" ulcers, and
for years burden on their parish, or
inmates of warehouses and asylums,
will now again resume their place in
the great toiling hive, from whose daily
work is distilled the prosperity of a
nation. Won Crates operation of iri-
deotomy, whereby hundreds of people
who were formerly considered ire
mediably blind, are now restored to
sight by a simple proceeding, is said to
have exercised very appreci-
able effect on the poor rates
of the country. AS an
instance Of true transportation, John
Hunters celebrated experiment of
causing q human tooth to take root
and grow in the comb of a cock is
well known instance. Dentists now
adays often remove teeth, and having
exercised diseased portions, replant
them in their sockets with frequent
though not inyaTiable success and
cruel plastic operations have been per-
formed on rats, by which they have
been joined like Siamese twins, or their
tails caused to grow from their shoul-
ders or between their eyes. The late
Mr.. f. Buckland, in his "Curiosities
of Natural History" gives an amusing
account of an action-at-law brought by
NJ. Triguel, French naturalist, against
zOuave who had sold him what was
termed a trumpet rat for one hun
dred francs the said " trumpet rat "
proving to be an ordinary Yarmint,
with the tip of another rats tail
planted in its nose and growing there.
Chambers Journal.