St. Paul daily globe., 1889-01-09
MADE HER A NEW FACE.
Mount Sinai Hospital Surgeons
Treat Strange Disease With

Treat a Strange Disease With
Great Success.
Mrs. A. B. Pullman has but recently
been lying at the Mount Sinai hospital,
SiXty-Sixth street and Lexington ave-
hue, the victim of strange and terri
bic disease, and the subject of an almost
equally terrible cure, says the New
York World. The. lady is siXty-two
years of age, and, apart from the rarity
Of the malady and the Singularity OF the
curative treatment, the case is remarka
able for the extraordinary vitality
evflced by the aged patient.
Nearly twelve years ago Mrs. Pull
man, who at the time was resident.
detected one morning upon her right
cheek minute pimple of deep scarlet
hue. This increased in size rapidly
and became quite painful. Skilled
physicians and specialists in skin dis
eases were powerless to check the dis
ease, which destroyed skin, flesh and
cartilage as it spread, until the poor
sufferers face became terrible to be-
hold. Her SufferMgS were almost in
SuppOrtable, and wnen her brother-in-
law, DR.. w. E. Fluhrer, of 32 West
Thirty-third street, the visiting phySi-
clan of Mount Sinai hospital, in Sep
tember last suggested that she come to
New York she did so, and went to
Mount Sinai hospital.
On Sept, IL DR.. Fluhrer, aided by Drs.
II. Liiianthal, w. Ladenski, O.. Nichols
and the hospital staff, made thorough
examination and pronounced the suf-
ferer's aff1iction to be 'lupus," a rare
and malignant type of tuberculOuS dis
ease. Then they proceeded to operate.
Subjecting the patient to the influence
of ether. they cut away the diseased
parts, using the scalpel with such free
dom that there was at the end of the
operation almost no flesh left on the
fsont of the face, with the exception of
the chin and portion of the forehead.
The usual antiseptic treatment fol-
lowed.
Contrary to the expectations of even
the most Sanguine of the operators, the
patient rallied almost at once from the
shock of the treatment. developed favor
able symptoms and, for the first time in
twelve years, had an unbroken hours
sleep. The cheek wounds began to
granulate, the forehead incision healed
rapidly, and within two months the
sufferer declared that she was practi-
cally free from pain, and thet a cure
had to all intents and purposes been
effected.
But the doctors did not consider that
their task was finished. The disease
had been defeated. it is true, but some
thing had yet to be done to partially
efface its remaining traces. Accord
ingly, particles of skin, ranging in size
from pins point to bits half the size
of a dime. were taken from Mrs. Pull
mans neck and transplanted to her
forehead and cheeks. This operation,
too, was quite successful, and to-day all
that remains of the wound in the fore
head is a reddish mark the size of
bean.
There now remains the nose and lip.
For the first it is proposed to use an Or
dinary artificial nose, but for the second
the extreme art of the surgeon is being
brought into play. A narrow slip of
flesh is to be cut from each side of the
cheek out of the now healthy flesh.
This will be cut on three sides only,
then turned back and over, meeting Ue-
meath the nose and forming what i'll the
future is to be the upper lip. The two
edges will be joined without the aid of
thread, and the inner surface of the
slip being turned outward will give the
natural color to the edge of the lip.
And so thus cured, Mrs. Pullman,
while bearing with her for the rest of
her life scars of the terrible "lupus,"
will nevertheless be fairly presentable,
and a standing proof of the scientific
skill of the modern surgeon. Mrs. Pull
man is now staying at the Murray Hill
hotel