Telegram-herald., 1890-04-24


physician nuss Be- tkoroughly ssllled
IL sErgsry Il As : sP % tie tl2ss
whyi Vel, ws have eoms 70 rsls mere
sad more apon The knife % perform tks
sfss q ms1leins. IS lad down II sas
ko0ks.
Assesses IN the lungs are no longer
lsft - TIE physician, they are no~
tapped snd drained by the surgeon In
az sueA operations, Snd. indeed In
every case waeEs surgical science q
sya1ed OF, the utmost care Is necessary.
The temperature OF the room, the treat
msnt OF the patient before, during AID
after he operation, are a. matters ot
vital imPor.anes 10 the success OF tie
suIgsoa. Nothing Is regarded a.
trivial
An operation which Is now ire
quently performed is the treatment OF
the appendix yermiformis, 81 the !unet-
are OF the upper and lower intestine
This small intestine frequently acts So
/. sac, which, failing TO be discharged,
becomes inhamed and rotten II eonse-
quenes, and peritoRitis develops. In
former times, the custom was 10 walt
antil the ninth or tenth day before
operating. and many died IN eonss-
luence of this delay Professor Agnew
died OF this ailment about TWO years
ago Now the operation is made imme-
aistely after the diagnosis, and a large
portion of tho eases are saved. Tho
method, plainly stated, Is 20 make an
lncision, exposing the intestines, and,
after the appendix vermifOrInis, or small
intestine. Is reached. 10 tle II up ana cut
Il of. Ia cuoh cases, We frequently ind
that a small abscess has formed IN the
Intestine This operation Is now re-
sorted to by all the leading surgeons
At every favorable opportunity as II
affords the best chance OF saving the
patient. The results are uniformly en-
couraging.
Another delicate operation IS suture
Of the intestines. This is performed
when they are injured by stabs or gun
shot wounds. Under the old system,
the patients were in most instances left
TO live or die, and 95 per cent. did
actually die. when laparotomy was I'M
known Now the belly is opened and
the wounded intestinss are sewed to-
gether. The saving of life by this
later-day triumph of surgical skill is
considerable, probably 90 per cent. re-
covering. Extreme precsution is essen
tial in such cases. The slightest haste,
the overlooking of wound or the low
ering of the temperature in the room
while the patient is exposed, may pro-
duce fatal results"
Cancer of the stomach" said I, sis
attracting much attention from emin ent
physicians here and abroad, with the
view of deciding whether it is the result
of microbe or q cell growth. How is
Ii regarded by sur geons"
with the conflicting opinions of
medical experts we have nothing to do.
Billroth, the distinguished Viennese
surgeon, is the leading authority on the
treatment of cancer. The first surgical
attempts to trea. stomach cancer were
directed to its removal by incision; but
that method has been abandoned We
now establish a new connection between
the stomach and the small intestine by
sewing the latter to the stomach at q
point removed from the seat of the
cancer, and in such a way that the
afflicted part is left or isolated. Nobody
can get right at the cancer to treat it
surgically, of course, so it is allowed to
remain as l have explained. This
method relieves the patient of much of
the pain and discomfort; although, of
course, the cancer probably stays with
him as long as he lives.
"Until a comparatively recent date,
lung troubles were not treated surgi-
cally. The first attempt at surgical
treatment were made fifty or sixty
years ago, but then in very rare cases.
Now such treatment has become an
everyday affair in our hospitals. We
tap the chest aud apply drainage tubes.
This method was considered revolution
ary and was rather unpopular until a
few years ago but its value has now
been sufficiently demonstrated. The
treatment of throat troubles too has
been practically revolutionized. For
tumor the lsrnyx is cut out in severe
cases. Here, again. Prepnor Billroth is
the pioneer in the application of fsurgical
measures, and he has handled some diff
cult cases very successfully. The ex-
cision of the larnyx has been performed
successfully in this country also, within
very recent date.
"Tamors and abscesses Of the brain
ere moro frequent than is generally sup
posed. The new treatment is 10 operate
by drainage tubes at once after the case
has been diagnosticsted, and | must say
it is very successful in many cases.
Numerous instances have arisen where
the patients have been saved, while
under tho old system, deaths from this
cause was inevitable 1t ia a popular
mistake 70 imagine that insanity fol-
lows as the result Of an abcess or tumor
on tn. brain, however.
Surgery has made great progress in
dealing with kidney diseases. also.
Stones in the kidneys, that were form
erly left 20 themselves. ultimately csus-
ing death, are now disgnosticsted and
extrscsted- In these cases. the patients
owe their lives to the surgeon. It Is
not infrequent. where a kidney has
been destroyed by disease. to remove it
altogether and let ths patient live with
single kidney. Such operations are
uniformly successful