The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-06-19
A TUMOR IN HIS THROAT.
CASE OF j sPEAKMAN, DALLAS
urgical Operation of Gastrotomy Per.
formed at San Francisco to Pre-
vent starvation-A Mouth
Opened in the stomach.

tween CASTOR avenue and the Rock.
wall road, is of interest. The opera.
ton, as will be seen, was performed in
San Francisco, and up to yesterday
he was still alive.
The Chronicle says: "Few surgical
operations have been so rarely ner'
formed in this city as that of pastTot.
omy. For the information of those
who may possibly not understand the
meaning OF this simple Greek deriva.
tive, 1t may be stated that gastrotomy
consists in cutting an opening into the
/ stomach. so as to form an artificial
mouth by which food can be intro
duced into the body. The case to be
| described - supposed to be the first of
| its kind, wherein a San Francisco ply
4 stefan has been the operator. Its sur.
rounding circumstances make 1t re-
4 markable. Joseph Speakman, who is
I now lying in st. Luke's HOSPITAL. on
4 Valencia street, is the patient, About
4 year and half ago he began to feel
sensation Of closeness in his throat.
4 and his neck commenced to swell
Gradually it increased In size.
and IN several months he
4 found 1t difficult to swallow. He was
then living in Dallas, Texas, where he
had settled several years before on
4 coming out from England. He CON
suited SIX doctors SUCCESSFULLY in that
4 town, but each was unable to afford
him relief. None of them, as now ap.
4 pears, understood what the cause OF
4 his trouble was. One said he was af
4 tlicted with paralysis of the throat;
another told him he had some other
q peculiar malady, but no two agreed in
their diagnosis, AMI all were I'M
A able to prevent his singular disease
from gaining constant Roadway.
Speakman had been powerful mau
before attacked by this trouble IN his
throat. He was six feet two inches in
height, 46 years of age, in the prime of
life, and weighed more than 29)
pounds. His enforced abstinence told
3 on him. 1t was painful at first for him
to eat, and soon 1t became impossible
for him to partake OF hearty refresh.
ments. He lost flesh rapidly and
changed from stalwart, large
paunched man into an emaciated, lsnk
being. The last physician in Texas to
when he went was specialist on dis
eases of the throat. He, like the 9TH
ers, misinterpreted Speskman's COM
plant. In his opinion Speakman was
suffering from consumption or some
other wasting disease, and he advised
change Of climate, suggesting that OF
California. Speakman had been car
penter and builder and owned lum-
Der mill at Dallas, but his means were
almost gone when he resolved to come
here. Accompanied by his daughter
land friend, he made the trip over
LAND, leaving his family in Dallas.
Had it not been for his splendid nstu.
Iral constitution he would have been
dead long before reaching this city.
/, DR.. Tanners fast was nothing compsr.-
led to his. He was so weak that he
could hardly stand when the
Brain on which he was g
\ passenger arrived in San Fran
\ cisco five weeks ago. On the Jour.
: hey he tried to eat, out could not. He
Etould hardly lift.ia cup of coffee to his
lips, and when he did so he could not
wallow the liquid. He was taken to
q throat specialist the day after he ar
lived. After an examination this ply
y 1ician took him to DIR. W. Z. Taylor,
whose Office is in the same house. The
latter ascortained that there was some
: obstruCtiOn in the 9sOphRgus near It's
entrance, as several flexible rods OF
Various sizes which he attempted 10
!. pass down into the stomach could not
= Ind room to make the descent.
A whole afternoon and part of the
Following day we're spent In endeavor-
=. big to insert one Of these surgical in
7, struments. At last, with very thin
0ne, the doctor succeeded, A catheteI
Fas Tapped over it and the OBJ.
$, ltructlon temporarily overcome
x, Through the tube milk and
Ehisky were conveyed to Speak.
mans anxious and grateful stomach
ALTHOUGH recompense WAS out Of the
d, Question in Speakman's straitened
Il, circumstances, DR. Taylor made par
ED icular study OF his case on account o
an 1s s,ngularity. Though fed regularly
Wpeakman continued growing weaker
md the physician concluded that
osncer had developed itself. lie laiC
I'M DE patients neck open far enough L
res 1ilryey the 9sophagus where II wa!
Eopped up, and was surprised TO fine
bony excrescence, which had grown
4 Ibrward from the spinal column by
1N De base of the neck. Such tumor II
hch place and extening in such {
ep, Erection had never been met with be
bre to the DOCTORS recollection, anC
81 therefore the ignorance of the TeXa'
physicians rega ding Speskman'i
mi nllment was pardonablo. The tumol
'exa build not be removed at once, and un.
ss of kind which might be cured
IN absorption, IL would DO impossible
Nm D relieve Speakman oft with safety
The doctor confined his stten
Ion for the time bein.
: feeding him. The cathete
sIs Process was slow, and the same method
wes was employed in nourishing Presi
D ih' lent Carried during his last sickness
Fas too tedious TO furnish Speakmal
Enough food The operation OF cuttinl
II Dis stomach opon and forming an arti
eIa ncial mouth was decided on. Beini
-bsident physician of ST. Luke's Hos
tal, DR., Taylor had him removes
v, here, and on last Wednesday made
'etN IL In the patients abdomen on tn
LEI fl side near the ribs.
THE stomach was not displaced, as
frequently the case, but the coating o
rexas was drawn out slightly through tn
ouSs fihce, and attached TO the skin out
dc, where II re-nained until yester
by, when the operation was com
as eted. The finishing part OF this sur
sArn cal performance was the most deli
te. The portion of the stomach Z
Law cut had been allowed 10 hang on
4, pa Ave days, so a. to be in proper con
o con ton for the knife. Medical work
s~ lowed that where the stomach ha
en cut Immediately on bein
aohed, the operation had prove
v. tai in most cases, Q
Ie2 IL thOn liable to gal
trance 10 the abdominal cavity an
Ageu duce death. Two hours were COZ
, Iexs med In making q hole only larg
)penl Dough TO admit the surgeon littl
IeU., ger. This care w6s due TO the M
ssity Of guarding against any pun,
ker. re OF the abdominal cavity. A rul
TexStr tube was inserted into this sma
al fening and milk, beaten eggs and
pail quantity OF whisky passe
Trough. The amount Of alinent wa
", hited because of the stomsch's Ion
, lsA PROD of disease, Speakmani wh
I'D wished himself dead when b
pme here, took new hope from tn
Jaw, pcoess Of this operation, TO which h
sun ld at FIRST objected. II is hoped b
re physicians that opportunities ~
hdying the process OF digestion WI
~ al = -. A n 4. ~