Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-04
THE sOIENOE OF SURGERY.
A Case of E0uoleation with Replacement
of the Human Globe with That of
Rabbit.

a case OF EuueieNttnn with kNepihceuhohb
of the Human Globe with That of a
Rabbit.
DR.. II. b. Chandler gives in the Boston
Medical and Surgical journal "A report of
this operation, which was performed on
Aug. by DR.. w. II. Bradford at the Mas
sachusetts Eye and Ear Intrmary. The
patient was seaman in good health. and
about 80 years OF age. consequence of
nm injury received in early childhood one
of his eyes had become atrophied, and, as
is usual in cases Of such long standing,
the globe was very much atrophied. TIE
operation for the removal of the stump
was conducted in the usual manner,
with the exception that strabismus
hook was passed beneath the recti
muscles, and a suture inserted previous
TO their division from the scleTOtic. The
atrOphied globe having been drawn for
ward, a needle was entered through the
,cODiunctiVa close to the inner canthus,
the nerve, ana a suture inserted as near
the centre of its substance as possible.
'fhe nerve was now divided close to the
sClerOtlc, the stump was removed, and the
resulting hemoTThage. which was trivial,
controlled by ice. The next stage Of the
operation was the removal Of the eye from
the rabbit. A rabbit having been obtained
whose iris nearly matched the color Of the
patients eye, circular lncision was
made in the cODiunctiVa about nm. from
the cOrnea, the c0njunctiva carefully dis
sected backward, and the tendOns OF the
recti and Obliqui divided close to their In
sertiOn. The eye being now drawn out
ward, the nerve was cut at about s
nm. from sclerotic entrance, The cavi-
ty of the patients orbit being, by this
time. perfectly free from blood, a little
albumen from fresh egg was poured into
it, ana the rabbits eye also dipped in
albumen previous to putting in place.
The suture, which had previously been
passed through the PATIENTS optic
nerve, was drawn forward and in-
serted into the optic nerve of the
eye, and by means of a peculiar
double slip moose the ends of the nerves
were brought into appOsition; one end of
the suture was cut short, and the other,
which had been passed through the con-
iuuctiVa, near the inner canthus, was
firmly secured by means of piece OF
adhesive plaster 10 the nose. The object
of thus securing it was to prevent Its
being subjected TO any tension, which
would have resulted in the removal
of the slip moose. The four rccti
muscles were next brought into
position and sutured to the sub-con-
junctval tissue, and the o0ujunctiVa
attached by four sutures to the band Of
the same tissue which had been left
around the cornea. The lids having been
closed, idiOform was busted over them
and pad OF absorbent cotton and flannel
bandage applied. On the twelfth day
after the operation the condition OF the
eve was as follows: C0rnea hazy, but
somewhat less so than when previously
examined; cOnjunctiva well united
around the cornea and to the globe; eX-
posed scierOtic on outer side had become
covered to about half OF its extent; recti
muscles working satisfactorily, with some
Improvement IN divergence over that
manifested before. Eighteen days after
the operation the condition Of the eye was
as follows: Conformation and tension
good; cornca improving, and has cleared
peripherally so as TO allow the tits 20
be distinctly seen; chemosis OF the
conjunctiva has disappeared, although
the membrane remains cOngested
exposed scierOtic on outer side Of the eve
practically covered by the conjunctiva;
AOcular movements IN AL directions good.
The object of the operation above de.
scrbed. was partly Xperimental--an en-
deavOr 10 ascertain whether a whole or
gan could be nourished sufficiently long
90 have vascular supply established. In
this respect, we believe that areasOnable
degree of success has been obtained. Wis
ANN " Nn NV tN llfNAt Il III NAt AANAN llihNAtNA
organ in any case, for the optic nerve was
composed principally of connective it's
sue, and diminished 10 half its normal
size. The principal aim, therefore, in this
case was 10 obtain cosmetic effects. The
patient was DESTROYS OF obtaining an arr
tiGcial eve, but his occupation being that
OF seaman, the nature OF his calling
made il undesirable 10 use glass artid-
cial eye on account OF its liability 20 be
broken. IL WAS therefore resolved TO at
tempt this experiment The value ~
the operation cannot from one
trial be fully estimated, and 10 is exc
trcmely dubious whether vision could be
obtained by the union OF the optic nerve.
That b. would prove, however, OF some
practical value IN the case of children
upon whom euucleation has been per-
formed. ls cfedible, Tor 10 Is well known
that n thOsC eases the orbltal cavity rs
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. It's true that We
would not expect Che globe 90 increase in
Size as n a fully maturod rabbits eye WINS
taken; but DR.. bradford suggests thar
the substitution of % young dogs eve
might 0byiatc The difficulty, az ~ would.
ln AL reliability, if well n0urIehod in-
crease BOZ sIIa a. it would bHYe done IN iis
normal position. C0smeticAlly. 10 could
De- used ln those cases that are Often met
with who're an artificial eye cannot be-
used Ou account NJ some deiUrmity IN the