Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-11-06
wonderful Surgery.
a MAN WHO WAs sKINNED ALIVE,
Bur WAS NSRsED BACK
ITOELIEE..

ktnHeQ ~ returned& Y way *
His case is curious. AS an inustras
.tion$of the nice powers Of modern
surgery it will be talked about from
one end of the country 70 the other.
On Wednesday, July 80, Kellar
fell into asteam vat at the Indiana
polls Veneer Works. He was taken
out as. quickly as possible, but he had
been scalded from the Ssoles of his
fecttto the middle of his chest. One
arm was all right, but the othter arm
was blistered to the shoulder. Hpgs
blisters puffed up all over the MANS
body, and the fluid which had been
exuded from thealesh to fill them
had bbesn cooked . a jelly. In
removing his clothes great strips of
the outside Or scarf skin came of,
leaving exposed the true skin under
meath, cooked until it lookedlike q
parboiled lobster. His toes and
ankles were 50 blistered and swollen
as to lose nearly all resemblance to-
human members.
As soon as his fellow-workmen got
Kollar out Of the vat they telephonedi
for tho company's surgeon, Or.
Ralph Perry. "Thore is, perhaps,
one chance in thousand Of saving
this man." said the surgeon, when
he had looked at the burns. He set
to work, however, and greased Rel
lar from topic toe with a mixture Of
linseed oil and lime water. Then he
swathed the body in cotton wedding
from which all possible impnrities
and disease germs had been removed,
by chemicals.
For two days and nights the case
hung without loss or gain. a tea.
spoonful of brandy was given every
few hours. Then a change came
Kellar seemed to be choking. Tho
throat became swollen, but this
swelling was checked. The mans
temperature rose a little. Fever SET
in. This gave'hope. The next morn
ing Kellar asked for something to
eat, and actually ate a piece Of pie.
and drank some coffee. The news Of
this shocked the surgeon at first, but
he said: lI a#
81 guess we'll win this fight, for q
man who a eat pic with no skin on
him has life enough left to grow a
new one."
When suppuration began, great
care was taken to let out the pus at
every point. The first dressing took
three hours; the. second still longer.
Five days were consumed in taking
off the bits Of old skin, four hours
each day being spent with the for
cops, scissors and scalpel, removing
skin layer by layer. Not q piece as
big as dime was forced. Kellar'sS
pluck was marvellous. The raw SUR
faces were dressed with an iodoform
mixture and bandaged with soft
stuffs.
Meanwhile the swamps Of South
Bend were being secured for two
pound frogs. A bushel basket of
these wore cleaned with a germicide3
mixture and fed on pure food. The
raw surfaces of Keller's body were
tenderly washed with clean warm
water, then with peroxyde Of hydro.
gen, which destroys pus. The utmost
cleanliness and wholesomeness was
insisted upon. Just before applying
tho frogskin the raw surface swaa
washed with weak solution Of cor-S
rosiyo sublimate. Everything ready,
tho first frog was brought out. With,
a quick snip Of the scissors, its sppii
nal cord was severed at the back Of
the neck. Then the loose, pearly,l
white skin from over tho abdomen
was quickly taken out and thrust into
a dish Of water which had been
boiled, but which was now merely
warm. q 4
In the water had been dropped d
little Of the corrosive sublimate solu-
ton, Being cleansed, the skin was
cut npi. o bits about the tenth Of