The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1888-02-25
LINGERING A JAW.
A Man Sees His Tongue Altar a
Period Of Seventeen Years.

a MAN sees HIS tongue AIU3r a
Period Of Seventeen Years.
An Interesting Case from the Presbyterian
Hospital at Chicago What Science
Can Accomplish When As.
sisted by Nerve.
For seventeen long years Hermann
when he did see the tip of his tongue
thanks to very clever surgical operation
he burst into shouts ans clapped his hands
for very Joy, says the Chicago 4Ua.l.
When he was lad about twelve years
old he was playing around a rather vicious
horse in his fathers pasture. Getting too
near the hind legs Of the animal, he got
rap On his left jaw which knocked him
senseless and broke the bones at the JOINT
Of tho Us. or, as q doctor might say, az
the articulation Of the inferior maXilary
and tho molar process When tho fracture
l1n ttcd the jaw was stiff or anchy loscd, and
FROM hat ama on the lower j-47 was i'm
movable The local physicians could do no
good, and as something had to be done to
keep the bcy from starving, two teeth were
removed from the right side of the jaw, and
through the gap the unfortunate fellow had
10 poke his food with his fingers and drink
Of course the only nutlinlent be conla take
was food which required no mastication
Think of the privation Of not being able to
crush the crisp and succulent celery stalks
between the teeth or leisurely chew q Juicy
bit of steall Halfth pleasure Of eating is
III the exercise Of the muscles Of the jaw.
AS the years went by the teeth kepts.groW.
ing. The molars, or grinders, being OPP
posed 10 each other, preserved their proper
lcuglh: but the inciso1s, or front teeth
grew out Of oil proportion. They did not
meet, and OF course did not check each
other, They must have been fully an inch
and q half i'll length and suggested the
picture i'll the physiologics OF a rat whose
lower incisor:s, having broken off, the up
per incisors grew into a curvipg spike, Curl
ing around the lower Jaw.
Mr.. Fischer is a man in comfortable cir
curnstances, and he Travelled over the con-
tinent, visiting Paris, Vielna and other
capitals where the hest European sur
gcons are reported to live and practice
They did not, however, have any SUCCESS in
mis- case, and in facti in no way relieved the
difficulty. ..
One mechanical genius devised kind Of
lever by which he could ps'y his jaws open
d little way, but 1t caused him great pain
and the jaw would close right back again.
The peculiar feature of the case was that
he could move his jaw little 10 the right.
an almost unhearl-of occurrence in an~
chylosis Of the jaw.
He came back FROM Europe very much
discouraged and loath to try the waters Of
Aoanu and Pharpar, when Jordan 3 wave
had proved SO Intellectual uut the iucon-
vcnience daily felt by him drove him to the
inquiry if something could not be DOUG for
him here In Chicago.
He applied to the Presbyterian Hospital
Scr treatment, and the surgeon III charge
told him he thought he could help him, and
between them tue day was fixed for the OPP
GRAFTON.
One Of the medical students who saw the
sllink3 done sai1 to a reporter: "After ad~
nlinisleriIlg the usua! anesthetics, ether
and chloroform mixed, the operating sur
gcon made Oh incision down the iaw-bone
little below and in front OF tho ear, down
about to the corner Of the jaw, and then
made another crucial or intersecting cut
foc the Zap. They cut through the
covers the bone to the bone itself. Then
u ulisi,e just below where the articulation
Of bone.
s;Thc saw was worked until it had cut
through, Then the bone was cut OFF again
q little further up. should think about al
inch of bone was taken cut, for the reason
that if much less was removed the two
:abattsng ends would knit together, and the
last condition Of the man would be- worse
than the first.
"Thls piece Of bone having been taken
cut, the flap was replaced and all thu
sutlres ma1c W4.h chrome cat gut which
would be absorbed.
6 In this case, as in every other bit Of
surgery done according to modern practice,
every antiseptic prccaLtion was taken, and
the wound carefully washed With g. Ito
1900 solution of bi-chlcride of mercury.
The. wound healed up by dil'st iuteution, aud
when it was perfectly we'll tho surgeon
brought him to the clinic, where you saw
Linl.''
Fischer was brought before the students
and asked TO move his iav rs If naasticatiug.
Tho lools Of Joy which overspread his face
as he demonstrated his ability to get away
with even boarding house beefstcaln was Us
near seraphic as any thing seen in Cook
County. But when tho surgeon asked him
to put out his tongue, and he SEW the pink
tip curing up from under his nose, he
broke right down and began clapping his
hands in the endeavor to express his de-
light in some outward and visible signs
The left joint of the jaw is all right, OF
course, and as tho inferior maxiilary proc
css can only move up and down in the
joint, there Is NO danger Of the jaw sagging
out Of place. The crushing power Of tn.
jaw is rot as great IS 1t would be in one
who had been accustomed to the full use OF
his jaws all his life, but still it is sufficient
for all practical purposes.
A great relief was effected when Fischer
went TO a dentist end had tho tops of his
front teeth filed down to something like
normal size. He can eat now without the
least difficulty, and is growing beard to
cover the slight scars which the operation
left On his jaw. He has not experienced
any trouble or pain since the wound healed,
and has nothing to distinguish him from the
common herd of men save the breadth OF
experience which his afHictlon has given
him.
Anchylosis of the jaw is tolerably rare,
and successful operations for its cure are
scarcer still. The surgeon who performed
the operation is man well-known TO the