Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-11-05

! aUuominaDle cavity and seriously inter-
IeIeo with all the functions Of the other
vital organs and life became misery,
| even the act OF breathing bringing on
sense of suffocation. With all the incon-
Vehience and suffering that attended the
| CROWN OF the tumOr, and although it was
seen that the disease would not succumb
10 any known method Of topical treatment,
the patient could not bring her mind to
consent to an operation. Her friends, ply
stefan and husband advised her to take this
course, but for months she resOlutely held
out against their wishes, and as the tumor
was extending every day, it made the sur
geon's task more fiicult If she ever
| should consent. Finally, however, the
tumor had grown to that stage when it
seemed TO use up all her strength and left
her in condition when the least muscu-
lar eXertiOn was accompanied by great
effort, and followed by long-continued eX-
haustion. " hen this condition arrived
! sae lost the impression Of horror with
which the thought OF an operation had
! previously filed her, and readily consented
/ TO come to New York for treatment.
Arriving at Mt. Sinai hospital a thor
! ough examination was made, asd mum
Der OF tests were applied to determine the
| exact situation OF the tumOr, and the eX-
tent of its adhesiOns to the neighboring
organs and tissues. The tumor appeared
/ 10 be fairly free from all dan yerOus adhe-
| slonS and her case was deemed a safe one
| for operation. After this conclusion was
! reached she was prepared by a special
| course OF treatment to undergo the great
! strain which would be placed upon her
| system. Her vitality, which had been so
long snapped by the encroachment
OF the disease, was invigOrated as well and
as quickly as possible, and after
q fortnight of this preliminary. reinforce
! ment Of energy, she was deemed in fair
| condition to be operated upon. She was
| taken to the bright, sunsbiny operating
/ room in the hospital. She went bravely
| enough until her eye met the glistening
instruments SO artistically arranged in
the cabinets standing against the walls,
and then she quailed and wanted to go
back to the quietness of her cot. Being
treasured by the kindly voice Of the
I surgeon that all would go well, she
went to the long uninYiting table and
lay down upon it. AS soon as she
was comfortably settled, an etherIzed
cone was placed over her nose and mouth,
and in a few moments her eyes closed
| languidly, and she turned slightly as If to
! get into an easy position for quiet sleep.
A leaden paleuess spread over her face,
the muscles Of her abdomen contracted
| cOnvulsvelg In the effort put forth by ma
| ture to neutralize the effect OF the ether
Her breath came iu short, sonorous gasps
a condition of insensibility. One Of the
assistant physicians felt the PATIENTS
pulse at intervals, to note any serious
change that the ether might produce,
while the operating surgeon made sure
that all the instruments that We're to be
used had ben rendered inocHous by being
left for a time in an antiseptic SOLUTION.
A slight tension being put upon the alb
! dOmen a sharp knife was inserted Into the
flesh about two inches bel0wWbe umbili-
Gus and drawn carefully down Ward until
a superficial incision about six inches
long was made. The wasting Of tissue by
the progress Of the disease had absorbed
much of the fatty substance usually
found in this locality and the abdominal
wall was found to be unusually tbitrs As
the knife sank deeper and approached the
internal membranous lining Of the abdO-
men a director was used by the surgeon
to prevent the KNIFE from suddenly slip
I ping through the peritOneum and lacerat-
ing the intestnes. When the ipcision
had been finally extended threugh the alb
dOmen, the surface of the tamor was ex-
posed, and portion Of it came bulging
| through the opening thus made. An eX-
animation Of the tumoT demonstrated the
/ correctness OF the opinion that there were
| few important adhesiOnS. The sur
geOn carefully inserted his hand
into the abdominal cavity and
| passed it all around the tuner without
meeting any obstruction the removal Of
which could not be attempted with safety.
! The tumOr was found to be Ovalfa9 shape,
about Is inches long and about 12e inches
thick through its largest part. The enOr-
! nous size of the tumOr prevented it from
| being removed through the opening in the
| abdominal wall in its entirety. By care
| full manipulation it was turned so that
thin section of the sac was exposed. Then
an incision was made through the ieshy
| portion of the tumOr, and a stream OF
light colored liquid was discharged into
receptacle beneath the table. The dis
charge continued for several minutes, and
the amount OF fluid was estimated at 5
gallons. 1t had perceptible though not
dlsagreeabe odor. After it had ceased to
flow the small quantity that remained
was absorbed by sponges, and the walls
! of the tumOr and the abdominal cavity
We're wiped as dry as possible.
The fieshy portion of the tumor, having
| lost its tension, hung in a fiabby mass,
and could easily be drawn through the
wound in the abdomen. The patient
showed some effects of the terrible shock
! to her system at this stage and means
were employed to increase the hearts &C
/ ton. While this WAS being done the sur
! geOn was busily engaged in severing the
/ adhesiOns of the tumOr to the surround
! ing membranes. 1t was worked entirely
/ free in a short time, with the exception Of
| its proper connection at its base TO an in
| ternal organ. This was quickly severed
| with pair of scissors and the large, ugly
! looking mass was taken away from the
/ body. Considerable hemOrrhage followed
/ the liberation Of the ovarian artery, but
/ the bleeding points were skilfully picked
up and ligatures applied. After the bleed
| ing had been stopped, and the abdominal
cavity cleansed with warm spOnges, an
other tumOr was found. This was OF
small size, however, and speedily taken
/ out without setting up any dangerous
complication, save perhaps hemorrhage
/ that showed 4 persistent tendency.
Every trace OF the sac having been re-
moved as far as it could be found, the
1 warm pieces Ofcloth that had been packed
! in and around the abdomen were removed.
/ The wound was then closed by silver and
catgut sutures so arranged as 70 reduce
| the tension OF the abdominal muscles
when the patient coughed or v0mited. The
/ abdomen was then covered with antisep-
/ tic bandages, and stlmulants were given
repeatedly by hypodermic injection. The
! patient rallied from the shock quickly,
and no unusual after-e1ects. The
| tumor weighed fifty pounds. The patient
was doing extremely well yesterday, and
/ IL was said at the hospital that there was
scarcely any doubt that she would re-