Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-08-30
BOW-LEGS.
The Operation of OsteOtomy Perform
ed on Children at Bellevue Hospital.

/ NEW 1OIh 1TlUunes
In one of the surgical wards of Bel
levue Hospital a reporter of the Trlb-
une was surprised to see about a dozen
children lying on their backs, with
their feet boistered up and their leos
incased in splints and plaster of Paris.
The oldest child in the lot was under
years of age, while the youngest was
about 2 years old.
Every one of these children has
had both legs broken" an attendant
said.
'When were they injured?" the re-
| porter inquired.
Eight of them had their LEGS broz-
en- to-day in this room," was the re
ply.
A tall young man with fair hair and
a smiling face, who was introduced as
DR.. Fraser G. Fuller, a member of the
Bellevue Hospital surgical staff, said:
81 am responsible for the treatment
of these little ones. They all were
either bow-legged or knock-kneed.
Their limbs were as much OutOf shape
that they were hardly able to walk.
If they had been permitted to grown
without surgical attention they would
have become cripples. They have
been subjected to the operation known
as osteotomy. In the case of bow
legged child an incision is made in the
leg, between knee and ankle. The
skin and underlying tissues are cut
through with knife as far as the bone.
Then an ordinary carpenters chisel is
used. The bone is cut about two
thirds of the way through, the chisel
being held somewhat obliquely. AS
soon as the chisel is withdrawn the
leg is grasped firmly above and below
the cut and the bone is broken suffici-
emily to permit the Strengthening of
the limb Bandages and splints are
applied and set in plaster to keep the
bone in the right position until the
fracture is healed The treatment is
similar in the case of a knock-kneed
child, except that the bone is broken
above the knee"
Glow long does it take child to
recover from such operations"
THE bone is set within four weeks
after the fracture, but the clild is not
permitted to use it's limbs much for
several days after the splints are re-
moved. Walking is allowed by slow
degrees. When the children are able
to run about again, however, their
legs are as straight as those of other
boys and girls"
care not the children liable to loose
their lives while under treatment?"
There is comparatively little dan
ger in performing such an operation
on a child under 6 years of age, but
the risk increases as the child grows
older. I have been operating upon
all the bow-legged children we could
get here for a year. None have died,
and those who have been in the hos
pital long enough to recover have
gone away with straight limbs"
do the children suffer much under
the operations"
''They are put under the influence
of ether while their limbs are being
Strengthened, and they suffer much
less pain afterward than a grown per
son. would under like circumstances.
Notice the way I string their heels up
above the level of their heads. That
is to prevent too much circulation of
blood in the legs. 1t prevents infam-
nation and lessons the pain"
The children, who lay on their
backs, with their feet in the air, ap-
peared to be rather comfortable. One
or two were fretful, but the nurses
said that their uneasiness was caused
by forced inaction. Most of the little
ones were the offspring of poor Itali-
ans. It was said that their legs had
become crooked because they had been
permitted to walk alone too early and
because their bones were foft from
lack of proper nourishment. DR.. Full
Ter exhibited photographs of several
children on whom he had performed
the operation of esteotomy within a
year. Some of the pictures were tax
en- before the operation and others af-
ter the children had recovered. A
comparison Of the pictures revealed
wonderful improvement. In one set
of pictures, children were represented
with both legs bowed so badly that
their knees were a foot apart when
they stood with theirfeet close togeth-
er. The other pictures showed the
same children with limbs straight and
we'll shaped. An increase in hight,
as well as the removal of the deformi-
ty, caused a pleasing transformation
~