St. Paul daily globe., 1888-01-29
SURGERY'S TRIUMPH.
A Successful Operation on a Laborer's
Badly Shattered Leg.
A MANS TERRIBLE FALL.
The Injured Man Lives Week o
Agony Without Medical
Aid.

pitfalls and physicians. They look upon
a hospital as human butchershop,
where the doctors stand ready with
knife and saw to do the carving. There
is no class of patients i'll the hospital
that gives as much trouble to the doctors
or attendants, and they are not well
coined in any institutions. Doctors
despiSe them, and the feeling is recipro-
Gated. Every Italian does not hold
these idiOtjc views, but the majority of
them do. They have been known to
cover up attempts at murder and keep
secluded many persons who have been
injured simply to. keep them out of the
hospital. There is no Disgusting the
fact too. that many of them have recov-
cred from bad injuries without medical
aid, and in cases where physician
would have given his opinion that such
thing was impossible.
PaulO PiazZi, young italian, while
walking iii the dark at the new acque-
duet, fell through an open shaft to the
bottom, distance of sixty feet. He re-
manned there several hours until he was
found by gang of Iaborers, when the
midnight shift was made. PiaZZi was
taken to his home in Mulberry street,
distance Of fourteen miles, in an old
hand-cart. He was unconscious, and
his friends would not allow him to be
taken to q hospital in an ambulance,
though one had been brought to the
shaft. He was badly injured internally,
and spit blood for several days. Four
of his ribs were broken and his ShOul-
der was diSl0cated, writes New York
correspondent of the Globe-Democrat.
\
leg, both above and below the knee.
These injuries were sufficient to kill al
most any one. even with the best skill
of the best physicians opposed to it.
But PiaZZi lived on from week to week,
in great suffering, without medical aid.
The tibia had been driven through the
flesh and protruded about four inches.
No attempt was made to reduce the
fracture, the whole thing being left to
chance dnd nature.
PLACED UNDER THE CARE OF DOCTORS.
ErySipelaS finally set in, and the land
lord of the house where PiaZZi lived
called the attention of the health de-
partment to his condition, and he was
taken to Bellevue hospital against his
will and the protests of his friends. The
health department is empowered to act
in all contagious cases. 1t is considered
by many people that the law in this re-
Spect is not strong enough, and that the
health department should have the
power of removing any patient to hos
pital no matter what the disease is from
which they are suffering when unable
to obtain medical aid, and an effort will
be made to have the law changed this
winter. PiaZZi became an object Of
interest to the physicians, and he was
visited and examined by hundreds of
az 10
had suffered long from an eXhausting
Suppuration, both internal and eX-
ternal, and not having received
proper nouriShment, his f1esA had
wasted away until he was
only skin and bones. 1t was
singular fact that the bones i'll the leg
had united without the use of splintS,
but the union had produced a sickening
deformity. During the process the foot
had been twisted so that the toes pointed
backward. There were four horrible
ulcers on the leg and on the hip. The
hip was greatly intfamed and the
patient was in such great pain that he
moaned constantly. He refused to take
the medicine because he was afraid of
being poisoned, and it was not until
Catholic priest was called in and had
talk with him that he consented to allow
anything at all done in his case. DR..
Melnow directed his attention first to
abatement of the erySipelas and the
healing of the ulcers. The patient was
i'll such low condition that it was over
week before any good effect was
noticeable. The Inflammation was
to extend and finally showed signs of
healing. The patient was fed on beef
extract and other concentrated food, and
to the establishment Of every one gained
strength and began to talk in broken
English about going back to work.
OPERATION ON THE LEG.
He did not know What he had to 90
through, and when it was all over he
still had an idea that doctors were
butchers, and with some show of reason.
He was operated upon IN the pavilion,
as it was not deemed safe to take him
into the hospital wards. After being
under the right knee and an orderly
jumped upon the thigh where it had i'm
perfectly united. The bone snapped
like pistol shot. The end of the pro-
tuding bone, when the patient was
brought to the hospital, had been made
the home of nest of maggotS. These
were cleaned away, but the bone re-
manned covered by a mass of dark-col-
Ored and offensive granulations. The
Odor was too stroug for several of the
physicians who were watching the oper-
ations, and one of them tainted from
nausea. The tibia was thoroughly
scraped and all the granulations re-
moved. A longitudinal ineision was run
for about nine inches along the tibia,
and cross inciSions were made to permit
flaps to be turned up. In the union that
had been made the fibula had ioined
with the Shin-bone. This connection
was badly broken, which permitted the
foot to be restored to its natural posi-
ton. In turning the leg splinter of
bone lacerated the tibial artery, and the
blood spurted into the face of the oper-,
ating surgeon. 1t took a long time to
check this hemorrhage, as the walls of
the artery seemed to be in weak state.
The shin-bones were then sawed off
about three inches being removed. This
allowed the tibia to be restored to its
normal position, but left a space of
about three inches between the extrem-
tiles of the tibia. The thigh bone was
encaSed in plaster of Paris bandage
after the fractured ends were Joined.
The lower part of the leg was encased
in box, made with attachments, to pre-
vent any shrinkage, and packed in fresh
bran. After the usual antiseptic dress
ing had been applied, the patient was
given piCHlS VI LiuldntS, DIS he was
nearly exhausted from the shock. There
was an unusual discharge of pus from
the wound for several days, and it was
feared that there would be secondary
hemOrrhage from the tibial artery. This
did not take place, however, and the
wound slowly healed. The recovery was
greatly retarded by the debilitated CON
dition of the patient. In four weeks the
leg was taken from the bran box and
set in light splint. The patient now
walks around ON crutehes. He can step
on the right foot, but the leg is verv
weak, and it will take a long time for II