Mountain Home bulletin. (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1888-1889, 1888-08-11
THE OPERATING ROOM.

~ VI AAS&H AANA kAOVXAs
HOW SURGEONS 90 THEIR WORK IN
A GREAT HOSPITAL
sights Which Unnsrvs the inexpsrisncsa.
a Weakness Which IL No Rs.peoter Of
Per~ons-E6ects VI IN AsssthstIe.
Operating sargsou's AssIstanta
No one who has sat upon one Of the benches
IN the amphitheatre around the airgeons
table ever forgets his first visit there. It
will not be what he that indelibly i'm
presses his memory ~ much as the indescrib
nhle emotions which perhaps overwhelm him
when the surgeon II ready to make the first I
touch Of the knife Then il Is that an IRE
slstible dizziness sslzes the new conner The |
ether bur,tened air seenls suffocating. A, |
nausea like unto that of seasicknes grndf
| his stomach He feels the blood leave his
face. and il he is abie by tremendous effort
| Of tho will to crush down the weakness,
faintness and blindness that are fast deprive
ing him Of his senses. hs does we'll His eyes
| arc anywhere but on the operating table,
| and his thoughts are wildly struggling with
the problem how to get out without fainting
| on the way lfshe starts it IN not unlikely be
will stagser few steps and then tumble in
. heap on the floor. whence he will be car
ried out OF doors, perhaps to to laughed at by
two or three students Of moro hardened sen
sibilitieA incidents Of this sort are not In
frequent at the incoming Of new class In
the fall 1t Is common sight at that season
for two or three students with woebegone
faces to manifest all the symptoms OF sea
sickness in the yard outside the amphtheat,~
F | hat t<.k N.>-,l <,f
curson steamer of SANDY Hook when the
Volunteer and Thistle are sailing In half
gale. This paralyxing weakness 10 no re
spetter Of persona Young men Of strong
robust temperament, who don't know what
siyslcal fear Is, and who are surs that the
tight Of q little blood would never make
.hem vince, are moro frequently the victims
Of this involuntary faintness than are their
weaker classmateA
To many the fumes Of ether aro nauseating
and the effects Of their emotions are thus In
tens fed Your correspondent WAS careful
to ascrihe his sQueamishness on the occasion
Of his first visit to this cause Many encoun
tars with the ghastly features Of great rail
road accidents, autopsies, murders, and sim
liar horrors had, however. made him proof
against the more violent symptoms Of the
imphtbeatre malady His own immunity
l
weeks ago. He yielded 70 the solicitations OF
young man who was anxious to see tho
1ysteries Of the operating room. and he in
tied him to make a visit one operating day
he young man had helped care for one OF
So victims Of accident. and quite sure
is nerve would not give way at sight of any
mount OF blood letting The writer had
t'nle msgivings, and he insisted that the
o,ins man should at first take a back seat
thence he could make his way out quietly in
: 'lse his feelings overcams him The first
ave brought in was an infnnt requiring a
light operation upon the head. The child
vas too young to b put under anasthetics
The first touch of the knife brought a tiny
lrop of blood The moment it appeared the
writer heard from the seat hehind him. where
ais friend sat. long drawn ''Ga a-a," and
then a thump The young man who thought
he would enjoy seeing leg sawed off had
seeled over at the sight Of a single drop OF
blood
Tho preliminaries and accessories Of al
. operation at public hospital are worth de
scrihng The only difference in the treat
: nlent Of free patient az compared with one
who pays regular fees Is that the former
: passes under the surgeons hands IN the pres
D en,'e of class OF students Generally speak
ing, it is a wise course for any one requiring
y surgical treatment To enter hospital for the
purpose rather than submit to an operation
at home The reasons are almost obvious
Within arms reach almost of the surgeon a,
great hospital is every instrument and ap
pliance known to science for dealing with
: = any emergency that can possibly arise. There
are always available convenient mechanical
arrangements that contribute to speed and
thoroughness in the work. which cannot pos
III,
1t frequently happens, therefore. that per
n require the aid Of a surgeons skill, make q
visit to the hospital for the PURPOSE
As rule the patient never sees the operat-
y ing room where he has been treated H.
goes in completely unconscious. and he Ii
. snugly tucked up in bed before he realizes
y that he has faced the ordeal which he has
been dreading Even the free patients never
know that they have passed under the eyes
y Of more than the doctors and the nurses The
etherization of the patients is always done In
y a small room outside the operating theatre
y It IL a process which some people dread more
y than an operation itself Others enjoy it
y and even indulge occasionally in an "ether
drunk" SO pleasurable are the sensations il
brings them. Patients attacked by nausea
y and suffocating sensations sometimes have
nara Iitue. anu ~ uO Iue AILeOOAOI8 WIG
y have them in charge The antics Of patient
y In tho lexcitement stage and before stupe
e faction begins are often amusing. Just AZ In
the case OF a under the influence oil
liquor. only in more exaggerated degree q
u person partially under the effects Of an
anasthetic sometimes develops qualities oil
mind and disposition that are, TO say the
least, unsupported and surprising Others
on the contrary. yield calmly and without d
struggle to the soporific influence Of the
10 ether cone, and are soon deep in an insen
,lblity that no surgeons scalpel can disturb
There are two and sometimes three or -four
assistants to the operating surgeon in any
ease The duty Of one is to tend exclusively
to the administration Of ether Sometimes
the young man assigned TO this duty has his
= hands full The ether Is administered either
y by means OF u large, shell shaped sponge
- which covers the mouth and nose, or with a
cone of similar szs. covered with a napkin
and partly filed with small spong,s. which
hold the ether Every two three minutes
- spoonful or two Of the anasSthetc Is poured
u into the sponge or cone, and most OF the time,
unless the operation is upon the face. the
u nose and mouth are left covered II the pa
'e tient should be attacked with choking OF
NJ nausea, or II the teeth tecome tightly set, AZ
lie frequently happens, the young man with the
: ether cone must apply the proper remedy
y One difficulty that sometimes arises Is the
n failing back Of the tongue into the rear OF
l. tie mouth, causing danger OF suR' cation.
= ard toeyoid this the patients head y always
ie GENT turned to one side The duty OF the