The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-03-06
A DUG.
Marvellous Properties of the Newly Dis
covered Anassthetic,

Marvellous Properties of the Newly Dis
covered Anassthetic.
Cleveland Leader: "Have you ever
seen an operation performed on the eve
by the aid of the wonderful an;esthetic
c~ocoaine?" asked q student of Western
Reserve medical university Of a report
er the other day.
NO." was the reply.
Then come with me. 1t is to be
given another experiment at the college
to-day" The student led the way and
conducted his companion to the little
room where the patient and a group OF
doctors We're gathered. The former
was suffering intensely. The eyes were
extended far beyond their natural
size by the swelling of the iris. The
eyeballs were pressed against the lid,
and the least touch caused the most in.
tense agony. The disease is known as
glaucoma, and former operations to re.
lieve it had occasioned the patient Sc.
we're suffering. The interest manifested
by the gentlemen present was profound.
Several were practical oculists, and all
were liable to meet silgle-handed a like
case in their own practice. The pa.
tlent, a ~fine-looking gentleman of about
30 years, was assured that the opera
ton would be absolutely painless, but
the suffering he had endured for the
past month or two had weakened his
nerves, ant it was sometime before he
could summon sufficient courage to per.
NIT the operation to go on. Finally In
dropped on his back on the couch, shur
his teeth tightly together ind said, Gee
on, gentlemen" The physician, whe
was to perform the operation drew
from his case q miniature vial tightly
sealed and labelled "H~ydrochlorate OF
Cocoaine." The seal was broken, and
the patient directed to open his ewes ms
widely as possible. The doctor also
drew his watch, and laid it upon his
knee. -Four drops Of the annesthetic
were then let fall into the right eve.
The little second hand moved
five points and four drops more
were let fail. Five seconds more were
waited for, and the same amount was
again dropped into the eye. In ten see
ondS more the doctor touched the eve
lightly with his handkerchief. "Do YOU
feel any pain?" he asked the patient.
Not the slightest, answered the lat.
ter. The eye was then pressed against,
the lid was crowded against it. and the
patient was directed to touch it with
hls finger. 1t was as Gallons as stone.
The eye was then slit with a little knife,
and the iris was split in two. A pair OF
dellcate forceps were her inserted and
q piece OF the iris extracted. The opera
ton may have lasted two minutes, and
during that time the eye did not even
witch, and the patient assured those
about him that he felt nothing whatever.
Ashas been said before, the operation
IS not a new one, bat it has hitherto
been performed under very adverse cir.
cumstances owing to the inability OF
The usual chloroform or ether to keen
the patient insensible for a sufficient
length of time. The operation witness
ed by the reporter wa the second in
which b anasthetic has ever been
used outside of New York.
Cocoaine was produced from the leaf
by Neiman, a German chemist, in 1880.
but it was left for DIR. Carl K,oller, OF
the Vienna general hospital, in 1884. to
find that this new alkaloid rendered
that extremely sensitive organ. the eve,
SO completely insensible that it's surface
might be gonged, scratched and cut
without exciting aEy sense of pain or
even causing motion. Since then 1t has
leaped by bound into professional favor
and an agent previously regarded rather
as OF mere chemical interest has been
demonstrated to be of such value in eve
surgery as to advance in price to the
almost fabulous sun of over $500 per
ounce. 1t is valuable not alone as an
annsti'etic, marvellous as is such a boon
to a sufferer. While DESTROYING sensi-
bllIty it enables the patient to obtain
entire control of that organ, so that
operations can be performed with great
er certainty of success than is possible
with chloroform or ether.