St. Paul daily globe., 1888-01-30


-MAaJ "a ylEH&- doing finely after
SS1IE tsgEgSlNl- undergoing what
-, my FTNXI- would seem to be
.-NSS-N HEE~ and what is one
--N1-~sSo of the most dar-
@FS ing of the capital
operations known to the healing art.
After hearing of it one is inclined to
give eredence 10 the boast of surgeons
that theirs is the only branch Of.medicine
which has made real advances. An I'M
healthy growth of bone in the socket of
the eve two inches broad and three
quarters of an inch thick was Clipped
Tay with hammer and chiSel, and
get the front of the eye was undisturbed,
and the immense wound healed py first
intention, To use the medical phrase.
without trace of puS, says the Chicago
Mail.
About Il year ago Mrs. Hathaway con-
suited well-knOWn oculiSt of the city
about her right eye, which was con-
tinually weeping and became periodic
ally putfed up. \ local treatment of
the tear-duct caused these symptoms to
disappear for time, but they recurred
in few months accompanied by the
most frightful continuous headache and
he loss of vision in that eye. The Ocu-
list had noticed on the occasion of her
previous visit Il prominence OF the right
side of the face, but paid no particular
attention 10 it, thinking it only an
lrregularity of the features. On her re-
turn he saw that the right side was
more noticeably prominent than it was
before. and
BEGAN MEASUREMENTS,
which showed that the eye was being
crowded forward and inward by what
seemed to be tumor back of the eye
hal hn nil of ha mh <
millimeterS. or nearly 2-l0 of an inch
nearer the line of the crest of the nose
than that of the left eye, the extreme of
the right temple was 10 millimeters, or
40 of an inch farther from the line of
the crest of the nose than the left, and
the cornea of the bulging part of the
right eye protruded nearly $40 of an
Inch more than the left eye.
Looking into the right eye by the
0phthalmOScope, which may be pOpu-
larly described as concave mirror
with hole in the back through which
The physician looks while rejecting a
food of light into the eye. it was seen
that the sensitive surface, or rather
what should have been the sensitive
surface. was as numb to the light
As the limbs of a paralytic are
% heat The veins were mar
row and the arteries barely visible. The
optic nerve was apparently pressed upon
Oy some growth in the fOramen or the
opening in the skull by which it
comes into the eye from the brain. The
oculiSt, DIR. William Z. Smith, called DR..
Christian Fenger into consultation, and
The next day, in order to gain an idea of
The character of the unhealthy growth,
an exploring needle, which had been
irSt heated to a red heat in a gas fame
in order to destroy any germs which
might cause Instantaneous intro
1uced near the outside corner of the
eve. as near to this foramen as might
De. This needle was hollow, and by
pumping on it few drops of liquid were
obtained, which under the microscope
showed a single group of spindle-shaped
cells. No clew was obtained, but it was
Judged that the tumOr was of q bony
nature.
Mrs. Hathaway and the captain con-
sented TO its being performed. The
Emergency hospital on Superior street,
between LaSalle avenue and Wells
street. was chosen as the scene.
The most painstaking care was used
to guard against any germs of decay
having access to the wound, and therein
lies the secret or the marvellous success
of modern surgery. With proper pre-
cautions about surgical cleanliness, il
seems as though any operation What
ever might be undertaken.
The operating room was ScrupulOuSly
clean, DrS. Fenger and Smith relig.
iously took every precaution with theil
hands, the instruments were bathed il
a solution of corrosive Sublimate, the
ShrOudS worn by them were perfectly
clean, and the right side and eyebrow
of Mrs. Hathaway'S head were shaved
as close as sharp razor could do it.
She, of course objected to the use OF
an;eStheticS. but two hours and hall
of such torture as she would have un
dergone had she been conscious would
have been fatal. and, as she is strong
and healthy. the usual cone of paper
and towels, saturated with ether anC
chIOrOfOrm mixed. was firmly held ovel
her head. and in few moments the
snoring and grOaning and gasDS fol
breath told that she was passing int
the realm of uncOnSciOuSneSS-i the
kingdom of Lethe.
The sharp, keen scalpel of the sur
geon rapidly cut through the skin, tht
flesh, and the tough membranes next t.
the bone at the outer corner of the TEN
pie, straight down along the edge of thu
eye, OH down across the cheek to wher,
the gums begin, and then curved back
BONE WAS SEPARATED
from the bone of the outer wall of tn
socket of the eye as far toward the mid
die of the socket as it was possible +
20, thus exposing the bone back of tn
eye-bail. Then n solid mass of the bon
could be felt projecting from the inne
surface of the floor of the eye-socket. /
was OH what the doctors call the create
wing of the sphenoid bone. This is
bone which. with the bone of the QUITE
side of the forehead and the bone of tn
top of the nose, together encircle tn
cavity in which the eye rolls.
How to get at that mass of bone grow
ing on the sphenoid was the question
but that did not take long to solve. !
hasty glance at the polished skull
brought along as charts and guides c
the living brain-caSe showed the SUI
geOns what was to be done. Th
bone of the cheek was separate
from the bone of the forehea
by a few blows from chise
Now, i'll the bottom of the eye-Socket
sort of crcyice, next the sphenoi
bone, which is called by the formidabl
name Of the Spheno-maXillary fssur,
The name i'll type is about the size {
this crevice. A chain saw attached to
strong curved needle was paSSe
through this crevice in the socket of til
eye, down through under the chez
bone. out over the upper canine teetl
This chain saw was worked back an
forth until the cheek bone was save
away. Then the surgeons knife cut G
a line with the eyebrow in the dircctio
Of the ear.
Put your finger up to the side of yot
face next to the ear and on a level wit
the top of the cheek bone and you wi
find ridge there caused by boz