Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-03-29
IN TWELVE MINUTES.
THE TIME IN WHICH PROFESSOR
WOOD AMPUTATED A LIMB.

\ 1hrtliing Contest Between Two I'm
nent SurGeons-ShowinG n scntohma
What IA Yankee Can Do-A Pretty Piec
of Surgical Work.
"Yes, gentlemen, remember well the iirs
time | saw Professor Wood, 'old Jimmy q
we Ased to call him for short, do the sam
tation. 1t was during my first six month
Iervice as inferno in this very hospital, an
tho professor was at the head of our division
] was as full of book knowledge as IA treats
ON surgery then, but grconor than grass wit
the handle end of the knife
The speaker was the professor of clinica
mlgery in u leading medical college He ha
just completed, in the presence of larg
class Of student, assembled in the anphithea
ter of Bellevue hospital the difficult opera
tion Of amputating at the hip joint the leg a
one Of the poor patients, who had been inJure'
by falling from scaifold.
"Well, about that timc Langenbeclg, o
Berlia, described modification of the ol,
operation at the hip, and Dr. Wood was anx
ions to perform it before his students. 1t s.
happened that DR.. Calender, the famou
Scotch surgeon, came over to this countr,
for the purpose of taking peep into our hos
pital systems, and naturally he became tn
guest of DIR. Wood, who was crIsty ole
bachelor and had an office ON Irving place
"Callender was true type of the cannl
Scotchman, with IA broSue that caused tn
boys to smile every time lie addressed them.
"For week hc attended all the lecture
and clinics of the professor, and naturally, a
his assistants, VIC were trying to do our pret
ticst
Zone Friday afternoon-Saturday being
our main operating day the professor cam,
in alone, and before going the round Of til,
wards, as was his custom, lie asked:
What have you got for tomorrow
"'There is plenty of material, professor,
was the reply; almost anything you like
THAT'S good Glad to hear it. Looks
like business, the professor remarked la
conically.
"'By the bye, DOCTOR, he presently re
sumed, besides our regular work | should
like to have two operations that are exactly
alike. Can it be doneP
"The surgeon informed him that in ward
eight there We're two poor fellows who
awaited his skillful hand to release them OF
their legs, which had been mangled beyond
the hope of cure.
1.-The old gentleman's eyes frightened, and
| forgetting that he was u bit stiff, he Jumped
up and exclaimed; How fortunate, doctor
| such excellent luck Have them all ready
for tomorrow and I'll show him something
that will make him think a little more of the
ability of American surgeons than he does
nowP
ut was Greek to us aud nobody knew what
| he meant,
"Half an hour before the clinic the pro.
| fessor, accompanied by Dr.. Calender, arrived
at the hospital DR.. Wood wore white waist
coat, and the ever present red rose dropped
from the lapel of his Prince Albert
"'Dr. Calender and will each do one of
the amputations at the thigh, just to see how
quickly it can be done he said carelessly
INSTANTLY we grasped the situation and
the remark of the previous day became en-
tirely clear He was going to show tho
ScOtchman that he could even do an opera
ton quicker than the reports gave him credit
for if he was a mind to, and the glum, dreamy
expression of his eye showed that lie meant
to lay himself out,
"W hen the first case was brought up DR..
Wood rose, and grasping DIR. Calender by
the arm, led him over to tho table and asked
him to proceed We had everything pre-
pared, anu was just applying the bandage
after having removed the other dressings,
when DR.. Callendes took tho knife in hand
and began the operation. Exactly twenty
three minutes after he made the first incision
he tied the femoral and sat down, leaving us
to attend to the minor details
1.-The professor watched his Scotch col
league and followed every stage Of the opera
ton with great interest. AS soon as we got
the patient down stairs had the other ono
brought up from the ward. He was already
etherized, like the first one, and it only re-
quired moment or two to empty the ar
teries and compress the big vessels, and men
tally called time.
Or Wood picked out his favorite double
edged amputating knife, hobbled over to the
left side of the patient and picked up the
bruised limb In a twinkling he made out
the line of demarcation, and steadied himself
for the circular incision.
with u single sweep the flesh was laid
bare to the bone, and without losing a second
the periosteum was scraped away. To all
appearances the professor was working at his
regular gait, but we could see the difference.
"Dr. Calender was fairly staggered, and
his eyes bulged fearfully, SO great was his as
tonishment. Click click! clichp went the
bulldog forceps as their sharp teeth closed on
the ends of the bleeding vessels.
THE saw was next brought into play, and
with a swish shsh-sh-er-r-r, the femur was di-
vided The dressing of the flaps and smooth
ing the cut surface of the bone completed the
professors part of the operation, the rest
being left to us.
"The time, gentlemen, was exactly twelve
minutes, or, in other words, he beat the Scotch
surgeon eleven minutes"
Chow about the character of the work7'
asked the junior assistant.
"Well, that would be hard to tell Both
patients recovered, and, to tell the truth, the
stump made by the professor, while not
quite SO neat, was to my mind much more
serviceaple than DR.. Callenders
Professor Wood made no reference to the
rapid time, and DR.. Calender was too much
surprised to say word about it. don't think
it has been equaled since.
Directly afterward Professor Wood did
operation, and without hurry
ing himself he carefully made his flaps as
you saw me do today, and went through the |
various stages step by step, never stopping |
except to change one instrument for another |
1t was the prettiest piece of work in major |
surgery | ever saw done Hardly had he |
wiped his hands dry when Dr. Calender |
grasped both of them and exclaimed in broad |
Scotch
IAN, dochtor, sure ye've outdoun Ian
genbeck himself
''Some years afterward, while in Berlin, |
DR.. Wood visited the great German surgeon,
and firm and lasting friendship sprang up
between the two men. New York Star
Would Make a Large Tent.
One concern at Waterville, Me, made 49,
10000 square yards of cotton goods last