The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-13
GREAT SURGICAL FEAT.

Three inches of Mans Backbone Removed
Paralysis Disappears and He Receivers.
Cincinnati Enquirer
| One of the rarest and most dangerous opera
| tons In the whole scope of surgery has lately
! been performed at the Cincinnati Hospital It
| consisted in removing about three inches of the
| backbone and exposing the spinal cord The
| patient was young colored man. about twenty
! one years of age. When first admitted to the
hospital he was suffering from terrible disease
| which had broken out over the head. neck and
| back in the form of large abcesses, the chief
! one OF which was about the middle of the back,
| and had eaten away the backbone to consider
| able extent. The poor fellow could not lie in
| the recumbent posture nor on his side in conse-
auence of the extreme pain attending such a
| position, and was compelled to lie all the while
on his face. Slowly he had lost the power of
motion and of sensation In his legs, so that he
was completely paralyzed from the body down
He could neither sit nor stand, and could only
move himself in bed with assistance Thus
terribly afflicted, he bore his sufferings with
fortitude WORTHY an older man than he, and was
very cheerful withaL Internal treatment had
no effect whatever, and then it became
necessary to explore the Assesses On punct-
uring the one on the back some offensive pus es-
capped, and, on introducing the finger, the dead
and decayed bone could be plainly felt 1t was
decided that his only chance of life lay in an op-
GRAFTON for the removal of part of the back
bone, as to stop the process of decay. The
young man, and in the face of it all he resolved
to undergo the hazardous trial. as it was choice
between life and death. He had wasted away
into mere skeleton, and his trembling emaclat-
ed form seemed scarcely able to endure such a
terrible ordeal. The patient was placed on the
table and given ether until he was soundy
asleep He was then turned on his face and the
plucky surgeon made an incsion light down on
the spine. A large quantity of pus was revealed,
and the cavity was sponged out carefully in or
der to see just where the knife was going In
this region, where slip Of the knife or one
false move would have been fatal to the
patient the surgeon with chisel and hammer
went down on the bone until he cut out all that
which was in any way affected, never touching
the spinal cord. There lay the white, shining
cord at the bottom of the wound in ali its pris-
tine beauty, and not n scratch marred it's sur
face. The operator smiled with complaisance
when he saw how nicely he had accomplished his
purpose without an evil. He had removed the
cause of the suppuration; hence the abcess
would disappear. He had also removed the
cause of the paralysis and felt assured power
would now return to the paralyzed legs; and,
more than ALL he knew time would accomplish
the filling up OF the place where the bone had
formerly been. The patient reacted from the
ether and placed in bed on his face. In
three days motion returned to the legs and he
was able to move his feet the first time in nearly
year About the same time sensation began
to return to the limbs In about three weeks
he could bear some weight on his legs aud
at this time he assumed the position
on his breast and knees which he