Mohave County miner., 1890-12-20
bt,eka MEDICAL CASE.
4 woman wkSe~ Left. Lev Was
tnrper Than Her Bt~vt

\ n woman .WlfGAF7
tarrer Than Her Br~ss
bas IL thc most remarkable casey
that has Iases tho ingenuity cf New
York surgeons in long ss'ne is ~ pres,
ent under treatment al the coilegs 2
Physicians and Surgeons, writes re"
York attrkespondept Of the - Louis
Globe-Democrat Jhs disease 70 known
.s elephiantiasis Arabum. fhs raslen' 'aas
Iis a colore1 girl, aged eighteen years,
She ha6, AZ the same time she appiieo
Tor treatment a leg which measured as
follows: Around the thigh, ~ i's
largest part, thlrty-six inches; around
The c,lf cf the leg, twenty-seyeu
inches. The other leg, not Affected
sas measured for sake Of comparison,
At The same places as the diseased
limb. It measured; Thigh. twenty
three inches, calf OF leg. nineteen ana
haif hichk. This win show the
great size Of ths limb which
viii be still better appreciated
when IL is remarked that at we
waist this girls body measured on'y
twenty eight inches. The disease had
been going on for two years and haii
Or more. The first symptoms were
fever and what WAS at the ume
thought 10 be dropsy or gdeniatous al
fection OF tho limb. As The disease adj
vance,i the skin over the limb' from
the abdomen down TO the ankle, De-
came red. greatly thichened. and Of a
aull, putsy-lilte feel TO the hand. Inc
size yspldIy increased for ie"
months, then remained stationary Tor
some time. There Was smother ieorile
attack and a fresh growth cornmepced-
The leg now grew TO what was then
thought enormous proportions ard its
tys.e nature became evident The skin
coyerftg sks limbs looked almost pre-
cisely like the hide Of the famous Jum-
bo. II was concluded that the growth
could be reduced BY tying lipature
around the main artery that supplies
blood 70 the limb.
Ether was administered 70 the pa
tent, and, unlike most patients, she
seemed scarcely affected until she had
taken half small can Of the anasthe-
Tic. Subsequently II was discovered
she vas woman Of incorporate habits.
which accounted for her great tolerance
Of the ethor When well under the
anasthetic she was lrst thoroughly
washed with soap and watar, per-
fornlance she resisted before taking the
ether. She was very filthy. and the
scrubbing made her copper-colored skin
at leaBt three shades lighter. All
things being 10 readiness, the surgeon
selccted sharp scalpel and made an
Iincision along the course OF the femoral
artery from midway between the hip
and groin to point four inches below
the place the large blood vessel emerg-
es from beneath Pouparts ligament.
This iricision wRs carried directly down
TO the artery, which is the largest In
the leg. The artery was then laid In
full view by the aid OF a pair OF retrac-
tors--tnstrunents that are put into
wound, one from each side, to draw 1t
apart 40 that its deeper parts can bc
seen. The artery was seen lying
along the border OF the sartorlus
muscle, but was quite deep
in tho greatly hypertrophied tissue.
Its outer fibrous sheath was cautiously
opened with sharp pair Of scissors,
and an aneurism needle carrying heavy
black carbouized surgical silk was
passed beneath the vessel, and the
silk tied firmly about It The artery
had become greatly enlarged; 1t was
several inches in circumference. The
bleeding from the wound was consid-
cradle, but at last all points from
which blood came were stopped. and
the wound washed out with a bichlo-
ride OF mercury solution, one part mer-
curry to one thousand parts water
The edges Of the wound were then
brought together and sutured, aproper
dressing was applied, and the patient
sent 10 bed. She recovered well from
the effects Of the ether, and her limb
rapidly decreased In size. No un-
pheasant symptoms presented them
selves. Five weeks after the operation
the leg was reduced TO almost its nor
NAL size, when attack OF feyer took
place and the leg commenced TO in
crease rapidly in size, but the increase
was not long continued, and after two
weeks ii again began TO diminish and
kept on Diminishing to the present
time. The patient has now left the
hospital and comes only 60 see the sur
geon twice weekly, and is regarded as
cured.
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