McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, 1885-04-23
BENT LIMBS MADE STRAIGHT.
Cutting Bones with an Electric saw-Curva
lures Of the Legs and Arms Of an Italian
Child Successfully Reduced.

Child Successfully Reduced.
A novel bone-cuttlng instrument
has been used in the wards of the city
hospitals on Randall's island and at
the orthopedic clinic of the New York
postgraduate medical school and hos
pital in East Twentieth street, for
several months. 1t has been employed
in performing operations for the cure
of various bony deformities and dis
eases of joints, and has proved to be of
such great utility that it will doubtless
supersede all other instruments now
used for these purposes. The object
that the inventor of this instrument
had in view was to do away with the
bungling and understandable methods
which surgeons have been forced to
employ, and more particularly to
make 1t unnecessary to resort to the
revolving method of using the mallet
and chisel upon human beings. The
new instrument is called the electro
osteotome and is actuated by cur
rent of electricity derived from pow
erful primary battery or from an ac-
cumuIator. 1t is provided with vari-
GUS sizes of trephines, drills and
circular saws, which are made to re-
volve at the great speed of twelve thou
sand revolutions minute. The larg-
est long bone of an adult subject can
be sawed through in five seconds, and
the bones of children can be divided
In from two to three seconds. The cut
surfaces of the bones are perfectly
smooth, and are in marked contrast
to the bruised and splintered ends of
those divided by the chisel and mallet
Few persons have seen or heard of
this novel surgical invention, as the
only instrument made has remained
in possession OF the inventor and has
never been used except by him. He
has refrained from urging its claims
upon the profession until he had thor
oughly demonstrated its utility. So
far he has performed fifty-one distinct
operations upon living subjects, and o
great advantage has been gained by
its use in each case.
A formidable operation was to be
performed upon a patient ut Randall's
island, last week, with the electro
osteOtome, and a reporter called upon
the inventor and obtained his permits
sion to witness the operation.
When the preparati ons were COM
pleted nurse came in with a horribly
deformed Italian girl in her arms,
who had been Invested of her clothing
and was crying vociferously, as if ex-
pecting the ordeal through which she
was to pass. She is five years old, and
possesses the bright black eyes, rudy
cheeks, and perfect teeth peculiar to
many of her race. Her name is Made
lima Picchiella. Nearly every bone in
her body was out of line, especially
the long bones of her legs and arms,
the collar-bones and ribs. The bones
of the arm. between the shoulder and
elbOWjoint were curved like q bow.
and those of the forearm, between the
elbow and wrist joint, were subject to
a double curvature resembling the
letter S. The curvature Just above |
the wrist was so great that the hands
instead OF being III line with the |
forearm was almost at right angles to
it. These deformities were produced
by the peculiar modes of progression
adopted by the child during a period |
when her bones were greatly weaken
ed by disease. The bones of the leg
were still more deformed than those !
of the arms. In crawling upon her |
hands and knees the soles of her feet |
were turned up so that they were in a
line with the legs instead of being at |
right angles to them as they would be
in normal condition. The bones of |
each leg were curved so abruptly
backward just above the ankle Joint
that when the child was in sitting
posture, the soles of her feet rested
squarely upon the table. She was
not able to stand for an instant, even
with assistance. With these pronounce
ed deformities uncorrected the patient
would have been doomed to helpless
existence, and the problem which pre-
scented itself was to reduce the curva-
lures, and bring the bones of the limbs
into straight lines. AS precautionary
all the physicians who were
to take part in the operation bathed
their hands in a solution of corrosive
and the legs and
arms of the patient were washed
with the same solution. A men,
Der of the house staff took an
ether cone made of Goth, sprinkled
some ether into it, and pressed it
down over the clIild's face. Her strug-
giles and cries grew less and less, until
she became unconscious. To force
the blood out of the leg selected for
the first operation, so that no hemorr-
hage would take place, a strong rub
Der bandage was around the limb, be-
ginning at the toes, and going to the
upper part Of the thigh. At this point
a rubber tube was firmly tied around
the thigh, and the bandage unwound,
leaving the leg free. Taking a small
scalpel, DR.. Roberts made a longi-
tudinal division, as cut in the skin and
flesh, everything the tibia, or long bone
Of the leg, at the point of it's greatest ;
1eformity. After the flesh was dis {
;ected away a little, two flat strips of ]
curved steel were introduced at right {
angles to the bone and between it and {
lie muscles, nerves, and blood vessels {
adjacent to it. By means of these I
protectors. the soft parts were pressed {
'ut of the way and the bone brought
plainly into view. In performing SIM
lar operations with the chisel no de- S
ice for protecting the soft parts have |