The morning call., 1890-10-20
A MAN FLAYED ALIVE,
And Frogskin Grated Where the Hum an
Cuticle Was.


Cuticle Was.
On July 30th Wesley Kellar fell into the
steam vat of the indianapolis Veneer
Works, where he had been working and
was so severely scalded that for a long
time his life was despaired of, says the In
dianapolis News.
The injured man was taken to his home,
and DR.. Ralph ST. J. Perry, the company's
surgeon, called. The doctor found that
Kellar was scalded from the soles of his
feet to the middle of his chest, and that one
arm was also blistered to the shoulder.
Huge bisters pulled up all over the mans
body. and the fluid which had exuded from
the flesh to fill them had been cooked to
ielly In removing his clothes great strips
of the outside or scarf skin came off, leaving
exposed the true Skin underneath cooked
until it looked like parbniled lobster. His
toes and ankles were so bliStered and
swollen as to lose nearly all resemblance to
human members. Only few moments were
required to show the hopeessness of the
mans condition, and the surgeon gave a
most emphatic opinion that he could notlive
through the day.
There is perhaps one chance in thou
sand of saving him." he said Already the
man was rapidly losing strength, his pulse
could hardly be felt, his body temperature
had dropped far below normal and he lay in
a stupor. He was creased from top to toe
with a mixture of linseed-oil and lime-wa-
ter. and wrapped up in cotton wadding
from which all possible impurities and dis
ease germs had been removed by chemicals.
Thus swathed he was left to the care of his
nurses for few hours.
For two days and nights the case hung
without loss or gain, no reaction from the
shock, no fever or any indication wherein
hopes might be raised; nothing had been
eaten to sustain the falling strength, and
nothing drunk but teaspoonful OF brandy
every few hours. Up to this date there had
been no treatment with cure in view. 1t
seemed too hopeless But now that reaction
had set in, curative measures were started
at once. Some pus began to show under
meath the skin and in the listers, demon
strating that srppuration had begun and
the time had come for the removal of any
and everything which DISTRACTED the free
exit of the pus. To take of the first dressing
was no simple task.
the inseed oil mixture, and in many places
closly adhered to the skin. The weak con-
dition of the patient prohibited the use of
ether or chloroform, and the large extent of
surface affected made the use Of cocaine or
other local an2sthetics impossible So with
scissors and knives the surgeon went to
work, as tenderly as steady hands could, to
remove the dressings, and after three hours
of the most tiresome clipping and shipping,
here and there piece being dissected away
from the skin, the task was accomplished
A fter two days rest the dressing was
again changed, this time with much less
trouble to both patient and surgeon, and
again ON the fourth day. By this time the
old skin, which had been cooked until there
was no chance of its surviving, began to
loosen from the flesh beneath and had to be
removed. Five days were consumed in this
operation four hours each day being spent
with the forceps, scissors and scalpel re-
moving this skin layer by layer. One can
only half imagine the agony Of this opera
| ton.
The raw surfaces, as fast as the skin was
removed, were dressed with an iodoform
mixture and carefully wrapped in soft band
ages The dead skin removed, something
| had to be found to Supplant it. To permit
the surface 20 become covered with one huge
| scar would never do. as this would prevent
| all perSpiration, and the functions of the
| skin being forced upon the kidneys and
other internal organs would soon so Overtay
| them that death would result Fortunately,
numerous small points which had, by good
| fortune escaped the general destruction OF
skin were discovered, and these served
But still there were large areas which could
not possibly be covered by any power
within the patient himself. External
| agencies were necessary. In recent case
| oil severe burning In one of the New York
hospitals the attending surgeon had sue.
|
to the body of the patient, and in this way
had produced new growth of skin over
large surface. which, but for the operation
must have been one huge scar, disfigure
ment and an interference in the movement
OF the muscles. After some investigation
into the subject DR.. Perry concluded tC
adopt this course in Kellar's case, but the froa
never seemed so scarce as just then when
he was most needed. Finally some friend:
at South Bend were. pressed into the serv
fee, the celebrated Swamps of that locality
were drawn upon and frogs galore were cap
tured. In a day or two crate of large two
Founders was installed in The doctors Of
flee. In transplanting the skin to the body
great care had to be used. The skin to bt
transplanted must be perfectly clean, ant
the surface on which the skin is to be placed
has also to be rendered as innocent as pos
sible Of all agencies deleterious to the graft
ing of the skin. Kelar lived through care
full nursing and treatment, and recovered
rapidly. To-day he is walking about tn,
streets of Indianapolis only man per
ha in the world who has beer boiled ant
skinned alive, and who has frog skin wher
he once wore his own.