Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-06-02
HOSPITAL HORRORS.
STORIES OF SURGICAL RECKLESS
 NESS AS TOLD IN A BOOK.

Wbat an Observing EngIishman Says Con
 corning the Terrible Things That Are
 Done in the Teaching Hospitals of Lon
 don-IIeartIess Experimenting.
 At second and third hand we may imagins our author to have gathered the account he gives us of the terrible things that are done in the teaching hospitals Here are two oi his illustrations of the treatment of mori- bund patients. \ nurse calls house sur geon:
 Sister says she thinks he is dying fast, and are you going tO OperateF Going to opsrctel Rather think l was. Don't you know. nurse, this is my first capital opera tioni Do you think l am going Co lose the chaucef Then. sir, sister told me Co ask you il had Letter let the chaplain know Chap lain bc hanccdr he cried Certainly not. lt would only depress the poor devil No, no! Plenty of brandy, Keep him up! Cheer him all you can: tell him it Is only a trifiing, every day sort of affair and he will be well in a iiffy. You may send for his wife oh, sir. she has been waiting about the hospital all day An right, then! Now, gentlemen, to busineSs. You shall see mo do something pretty The bell rang for the operation Co assemble the students, some of whom said 'it was a beastly shame Co torture poor wretch who hadn't a chance of getting over it 'Ah, you won't talk like that when you are house pirgeon III <. they always termed itl your relf You will be glad to operate on your father. if you cant get anybody else. Be Edes, what arc hospitals for, if not to qualify ys for our work! If people don't want us to Iearn all we can from thea, why don't they stay at home and die' The parish doctor won't disturb their latter moments with op erations
 And again:
 Here is a middle aged woman, evidently having but a short time to live, yet this afternoon Dr. Wilson says his chief prOpQses to perform upon her capital operation. He has not the least hope it can save her life, but the chance of performing such an opera. tion arises but s5l6om, and it is but just md kind to the house surgeon, who wants all tLt practical work be can get, to let him assist So the woman and her friends are duly p-essed to consent that this-'the only mean Of saving her liie'-shall forthwith be done To this end all the nurses arc instructed C. urse her. Al Inst she submits She will D, carried to the operating theatre, and th.- chance of instruction will fall 10 Dr. Wilson hands, for as soon ss the chlorofOrm has effected its work be viii take the place Of the chief and do his first strangulated hernia. Q
 Among the cases of heartless experiment. ing We have the following:
 "'Would you like to do q gastrotomy You ought to do one or two before you leave It's a very pretty operation never knew a Fgrrr aothing like trying, and If you pick out a case sAat must die any way you are welcome tC use any of my cases that We can get to con. sent, and with Sister Agnes consent-sister ls capital as getting consent in anything tren't you, sisterf-it can generally be man. aged I wish Co investigate said enc of his dresSers. the presence of hthic acid in the blood of rheumatic patients. May l blister one or two of your patients, Mr. Grower Oh, certainly said the obliging physiolog,st; only you must take preCaU. es=s JO :st he patient imagine you are doiEc ,; Ter his benefit, and be careful the nurse don't sec what you are abOut-nurses are get ting cute nowadays. With these prOvisoS. you are free tO roam at large, my friend oEer- the bodies oi any 6i ny eilnieS.
 Almost inconceivable cases of carsiSssiie,- and recklsSSueSs are charged against the afr erators.
 '.VisiOns Of similar cases crowded in upor. the good Sisters recollections-of eviscrr atei creatures in which DO tumor WAS dis covered Co remove; of eases where, on tl- post mortsm table, spOnges, and even inStrl- ments had been discovered carelessly sewu up tn the patients after operation, and had caused their deaths. One day af old pavior smashed his hand The surgeoIls ct St. Bernard wanted tO remove thre, fingers Not before he had been tO see Sister Agnes, be thought Sister Agnes went ir for conservative surgery, and told him to re fuse his consent. How often hnd she known a simple method of dressing to save tE, digits in such a case. In three months the man had the complete use Of bis hand as bc fore the accident, but that didn't console the house surgeon, whose fingers had itched tC make a neat little job of it.T-London Spec tator Book Review