The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-01-11
rronl The Ne,U York Press.

From the NeU York Press.
A surgical operation for cancer was per-
sOrn,ed in New York Saturday, the details
sf which show case of most remarkable
Su,ran fortitude. The operation was so far
l,'ccessful that it will pass into record as
.-,,,,nh of the skill and science of surgery.
Patrick Barrett is stevedore. His home,
with hi wife and two children, is at 81 Car
mine street The operation to which he
.,,hr,itted with a nerve and courage rarely
.ncountered in the worlds history, was per-
f,rmed at priva g hospital at 53 West
Ivf+aenth street Barrett was born in
Iroland. He is 46 years of age and las
lived in this country "A of these years. He
has worked on the docks since boyhood.
His fellow stevedores have noted him for
uraat strength, endurance and rigid temper
sence principles. He was at work on the
White Star pier about elghteen montns ago
.rben a box of soap fell from the side of a
steamer and struck him glancing blow on
.be left cheek. There was good sized
Inn, raised and his eve was blackened, but
no. vent on with his work just the same.
I'D in a little while the effect of the blow
had all passed away as far as could be seen.
Anrearances proved deceptive. A month
sfter he was injured, while eating his din
COR he discovered hemorrhage in his
,nontb An Investigation showed that his
taefh had ruptured a small warty excres-
oonce which was attached to the left cheek
inst in front Of the angle of the jaw. Mr..
Efarrett paid no attention to it, and thought
i would disappear as suddenly as it seemed
20 have grown But it did not. 1t kept
Growing all the time. Masses, like little
halls formed on the inside of the cheek, aud
extended nearly to the mouth.
Mr. Barrett suffered much from pain,
which was burning and decorating, and ex-
tended TO the left shoulder and top of the
Mead In about four months the left side of
the face began to swell, and it slowly in
creased in size until it was nearly as large
as a cocoanut.
It detracted greatly from Barrett's
beauty. but as long as he was able to work
he did not mind it much. Barrett did not
luow what was the matter with him, and
never felt worried about it until he read,
about two weeks ago, an account Of the
German Crown Princes malady in the news
rsDers 1t dawned on him then that if be
had q cancer he had better be doing some
thing about it, and went to the hospital.
Dr., T. J. Keane, the house surgeon, made
careful examination of the new growth
and found epithelal cancer cells in piece
nj tissue. which was taken from the patients
animation The disease had spread to the
left tonsil and uvala. and had taken in a
Davt of the tongue at the base and the upper
3gwhone There was no local or internal
treatment gwen, and the patient was put
M b diet to prepare him for the operation
fJ ex. irpate the cancer, which was similar
in kln and position to the one which killed
zen Grant The patient was taken to the
Jperatiug room Saturday at 2 p. m. DR..
& I,a, md
physicians present.
Now. Mr.. Barrett, just lie on the table
and take the ether,n said DR.. Keane.
No, sir | will not responded the pa
rent. ''You can cut my head off and /
ltill not say a word, but I'll not take a thing
Il destroy my senses. I'll not give you any
C'uble, sir
ne patients determination could not be
aken. the glittering knives on the table
'ad no effect on him and the work went on
rhout the an8sthetic. To deaden the
visibility Of the membranes in the mouth
so as to prevent gagging, it was painted
With the per cent. solution of cocaine. A
law extender was then placed between the
reeth on the right side, and by using a set
s''rew the mouth was opened so wide that
II nearly dislocated the jaw. 1t was uncom-
Portable for the patient, but it gave good
view of the tumor.
A deep incision was made in the cheek on
the inside along the lower jaw bone. The
blood gushed into the mouth like fountain,
showing that the tumor was very vascular.
SpongeS were packed into the mouth, and
as fast as they became saturated were
quickly removed and others put in their
place. The patient had great difficulty in
breathing and the instruments were got in
readiness to split open his windpipe and in
sert tracheotomy tube if it should be
necessary. ....
After the hemorrhage was checked the
incison was extended upward and all
around the edge of the diseased mass. The
patient aided the surgeon greatly. Instead
of'getting Hurried when the warm blood
ran into his throat he calmly shut up his
windpipe and held his breath until the
blood could be cleared away. A piece of
Tissue was raised so that it could be seized
with thumb forcepS, and the whole mass as
itappeared in the mouth was dissected out
with knives and scissors. The left
tonsil was removed entirely The uvula
was cut away and a section of the roof OF
the mouth also. The base of the tongue on
the left side was cut into about half an inch
ms took out all the cancerous tissue on the
inside This part of the operation lasted an
hour, and the patient stood on his feet all
the time. He was apparently the most I'M
concerned person present. He had not
uttered word of complaint, and when his
lace turned black from partial suffocation
caused by the blood getting in5o the larynx,
he brought himself out of the trouble with
out assistance. He had suffered terrible
pam, but the only sign of it was the pale
ness and anxious expression of his face.
Inc most horrible torture was yet to
come. The hemorrhage in the mouth had
10 be stopped before the operation could go
on. Styptic cotton and other things were
tried without success. Paquelin's thermo-
cautery was got i'll readiness as a dernier
resort. The cautery was raised to a white
neat for about half an inch. The surgeon
gave the patient warning and then plunged
lhe heated metal into his mouth and ran 1T
over the wounded surface. Smoke from the
burning flesh poured from the patients
mouth, and tears of agony ran down his
oheek and mingled with the blood. When
the cautery became cold it was heated again
ana applied to some other part of tho mouth.
ms was done several times, and finally
checked the hemorrhage
-, Not once during this terrible ordeal did
me patient Vince. He did not even clench
ms hst, but rested his hands on his hips
most OF the time. He had gone through
enough to put ninety-nine out of 100 people
on their backs in an unconscious condition,
and yet he said he felt firsr-rate.
The patient was next placed on his back
on the operating table TO remove the ex-
ternal tumor, which operation included the
removal of a portion of the upper jawbone.
Inc patient refused to take whisky, as he