The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1886-02-11
REMARKABLE OPERATION.
DRILLING INTO A MANS THIGH
BONE BY ELECTRICITY,


P'''N NFA'e"RN ~ ahAt VI ~
Tiny Electric Light
A recent issue of the New York World
describesa remarkable surgical operation,
performed through the aid of electricity,
Says our informant; The introduction of
an electric light inside of II bone in a
mans body after the bone had been
drilled was novel feature of an interest
ing operation performed at the New
York Post Graduate Medical school, in
East Twentieth street, by DIR. Milton
Josiah Roberts, 1t was an operation to
cure hip disease.
A student of the Burlington college,
VT, slipped on the pavement about seven
weeks ago and strained his left hip.
Soon the pain became so great that he
essential that the diseased portions of
bone should be removed. He finally
came to this city, and yesterday, in the
presence of n dozen physicians, DIR,
Roberts performed a skillful and success
full operation.
The young man was laid on bed
spread with blankets in the operating
room, while on table near by was col
lection of steel instruments. The patient,
an intellectual-looking young man of
twenty-five, whose sunken eyes told Il
story of suffering, watched his bandaged
limb anxiously as the attendants sought
TO place him in the least painful position
on the couch. DR.. Forrest, his attending
physician, without a word Of ceremony,
clapped cone of ether over the young
mans face, and while he was inhaling its
fumes and sinking into unconsciousness
DIR. Roberts gave history of the case
and told what he proposed to do. From
his examination of the case he thought
there was suppuration of the tissues of
the canccllous portions of the bone This
produced the painful reflex spasm of the
muscles. The head of the hip-bone was
probably suppurating, or the cancellous
tissues inside were rotted, and the joint
not affected. The first thing the doctor
intended to do was to introduce a small
drill into the bone, which would pick up
portions of it, and taking it out, the
microscope would say whether these
pieces were diseased
The instrument for drilling the bone,
an invention of DR.. Roberts, is called the
elcctro-osteotome and is worked by an
electrical current generated by strong
primary battery or an accumulation. The
old-stylc system of saving and hacking
away at bones and plying the mallet and
chisel, which is slow and often bungling
is in striking contrast with this. The
electro osteotome can revolvc drills, cir
cular saws, and trephines at a speed of
$4,000 revolutions a minute. Five sec
onds is long enough to saw through the
biggest long bone of an adult, and in two
or three seconds the bones of children
may be cut in two, leaving smooth sur
faces.
The patient having become thorough
~ unconscious, the bandages on his leg
were quickly cut, and skeleton femur
was laid over his limb to aid in picking
out the large tuberosity OF the bone be-
low the hip-joint. The location being
definitely fixed, DR.. Roberts took his
scalpel and made an incision through
the flesh about three inches wide, laying
bare the hip bone A fine drill was at
tached to the electric ostcotome, and the
electric current from the battery sent it
whizzing in an instant through to the
head of the hip bone, about four inches
in length. The drill had scoopcd up
pieces of bone in its passage, and, tn G
drill being withdrawn, they were put I'M
der microscope. DR.. Eliot, after min
ute examination, decided that they were
diseased. He was now ready to pro2eed
still further with the operation. He used a
larger drill and then "a still larger one,
nj the electric current rs quickly drove
en- through the bone until there was a
hoe in the young mans hip bone big
enough to put your finger in, The blood
was absorbed by sponges every few mo-
ments, and the hole was cleaned out as
much as possible by introducing little
sponges into it.
At this point occurred the most fascin-
ating piece of work, from a medical point
of view, that was involved in the opera
ton. DR.. Roberts held in his hand a
tiny electric light, its glass globule no
larger than pea and its carbon filamcnt
as fine as hair and so tender in its CON
the battery only an instant at a time.
This light the doctor introduced inside
the young mans bone, and as it was
''flashed up" at few seconds interval,
he was able to see just what proportions
of the bone were healthy and what were
diseased. The light made the interior
rs clear to the ordinary eye as if it were
laid open on the dissecting table. The
doctors were delighted with its utility.
Then DR.. Roberts rapidly cut away all
those portions which were diseased, by
means of the electro osteotome.
Having obtained satisfactory results
from the operation at this stage, drain
age tube was placed inside of the bone
to carry away any diseased matter that
form, and the remainder Of the wound
was nearly all sewed up. Antiseptic
bandages were applied and hypodermic
injection of morphine was made in the
invalid's right leg to help him through
when he should regain consciousness.
His senses came to him soon after, and
his condition was all that could be de.
sired. The hollow in the bone will soon
heal up and new tissues be formed, and
it is believed that the patient will be able
to use his limb almost as well as before
the accident occurred.