Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-07-19

mucn discussion IN the medical profess
sion, says the New York TrlhSne. and
given rise 70 much good.natured ridi-
cule. 1t has always been looked upon as
visionary by practical ANTAGONISTS, but the
experiments which have been and are
now being carried on ia this city by DIR.
CHARLES III May, of the New York Poly
clinic, bring up the question again, and
demonstrate the feasibility OF the idea.
Inc subject under considera-
tlon is the eye. Anyone dissat-
lshed with the organ of sight that nature
mas given him need walk no longer on the
barren Island II despair. II any one has
bind eye, or no eye at all, or feels as II
a black eye or blue Que would be more
In keeping with his style Of beauty, few
hours IN the repair shop will set all things
straight, and he will come out fitted up To
bis taste. The small squirt eye, which is
said to indicate deceitful heart, can be
thrown away, II the possessor SO desires,
and the sockets filled with the large, lus.
trous orb OF innocence and truth, which
physiognomists point to as sure sign
OF poetical spasm. DR.. May has proved
that the eyes OF animals can be exchanged
without great difficulty, and believes
that the same can be as easily done Ia
the human being under the proper con-
dihons.
DR.. May began his experiments In trans
planting eyes In January last His atten-
tion was called to the subject by the ef-
forts OF Doctors Chilbret, Tirrier, and
Rohmer of Paris, and DR.. Bradford Of
Bost N, who reported in the latter part OF
1885 that In five cases attempts were
made to transplant the eye OF a dog or u
rabbit into the socket of a human being.
Four of these cases were unsuccessful,
the dogs eye turning out the worst of all,
while the final report OF the fifth case has
not been made puplic. These failures
were due to lack OF experience, and as the
Held had never been trod before, it was
only natural TO expect that mistakes
would be made, and all of the surgeons
recommended that before any fur
ther attempts were made on
Ia human subject, the most
favorable condition and mode
OF treatment should be definitely estab-
lished by practical experiments with ami
mails. Rabbits were selected by DR.. May
as the animals best suited to use for the
experiments. Twenty-four OF them were
operated upon, and careful and minute
records were kept OF every change and
condition. The method of operating In
/ NoSh vi luC CdbtH WIS IHG same, WIFI tue
exception OF few trivial changes. Two
RABBITS OF about equal size were always
used, and selections were made at times
so that after the operation one of the
eyes would be blue and the other black
Ether was always given. The rabbits
took to it kindly, and though occasionally
1t would be necessary to practice artincisl
respiration and keep up the administra
ton of the ether for three hours, they
! speedily recovered, and there was no
evil afttr-effect. After they had become
conscious the eyelids were distended
by spring spectrum Fixalion forceps
were used 10 keep the eye in position,
and then the conjunctiva and reclus supe-
rior muscles were cut into with blunt
PAR Of scissors. They were held together
with piece of thread, and the muscles
were also cut with the scissors and To-
Gated in position by threads. knotted
thread was run through the coDjunctiva
near the center to give the relation Of the
eyeball after removal. The eye being
drawn out Of the socket as far as possible,
the optic nerve was exposed, and it was
severed with a pair Of curved scissors
about one-eighth of an inch from its en-
trance tc the brain. This severed all the
attachments, and the eye was taken out
and wrapped up In cotton saturated with
boric acid.
One eye Of each rabbit having been
enucleated, the work of transplantIng
was in order. This could not be done
until all hemorrages had been stopped.
Then an exceedingly delicate mt edle,
curved at nearly right angle, was run
through the exposed optic nerve Of one of
the rabbits and piece of the thread was
drawn after II. The needle then being
attached to the excised nerve OF one of
the enucleated eyes, the thread was
frightened and the points OF the nerve
were united. A suture wes made to hold
the nerve in position. The pieces of
thread which had been attached to the
recti muscles and conjunctiva were then
picked up and the conjunctival sac was
drawn over the eyebal. Eight stitches of
black silk were used to unite the recti
muscles and the coniunctiva after the
edges had been fitted together, and the
strange eye was then an occupant OF
strange place. To keep the trans.
planted eye fixed, two silk sutures
were passed through the eyelids,
which were gently drawn together. After
the eyeballs had been washed out an
antiseptic solution of the blchloride of
mercury, compress of borated cotton
was applied to the eye, which was covered
with q flannel bandage. over all was
placed channels mask adapted to the
head. The unoperated eye was not
covered. The bandage was left on week
before removal, and the parts were I'M
usually free from suppuration.
AS q matter of experiment seven case
out Of the twenty-five were left unband-
aged, and slonghing OF the coma quickly
followed. In seven other cases the ami
mails, who kept up constant endeavor to
tear off the bandage, succeeded In dis
placing them so rs TO prevent the proper
healing Of the eyes. In four of the cases
the bandages had been applied too tightly
and interfered with the motion OF the
jaw. This set up an Inflammation which
caused the eyes to slough. In the re-
naming six cases where the bandages
were held in position by the channels
covarfnU the OneratiOn was entirely sue |