Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-11-06
THE OPERATING ROOM.
HOW SURGEONS 90 THEIR WORK IN
a GREAT HOSPITAL

SA"9fse tae Inexperienced
= "e~k"es. which Il No Rsspeeter d
s-r=sns--Ensets u an An,sthetto.
Operating snrsson's Assistants.
No one who has sat upon one Of the be,cbss
N the amphitheatre around the mreaon,.
table ever forgets his first visit there Il
VIII not be what no sees that fndeIiblv i'm
presses bis memory as much IA The irdescrih.
able emotions which perhaps oyerwhelm Nm,
when the surgeon Is ready to make thu Ara
touch Of the knife. Then 1t il that An irra.
sistibie dizziness seizes the new corner tn
ether burdened air seems sufYocatino
nausea like unto that Of seasickness 1r;nd.
his stomach He feels the blood leave ~.
lace, and II he Is able by q tremendous effort
OF the Will to crush down the weakpess
faintness and blindness that are fast depriv'
Ing him OF his senses, he does well His eves
are anywhere but ON the operating tabIe.
and his thoughts are wildly struggling with
the problem how to get out without faintino
ON the way. II he starts it is not unlikely bs
Will stagger few steps and then tumble IN
heap on the floor, whence he will h. car.
ried out OF doors, perhaps to be laughed AT bv
two or three students of more hardened sem
sibil1ties. Incidents Of this sort are mot n.
frequent at the incoming of a new class in
the fall 1t is a common sight at that season
Tor two or three students with woebepone
faces TO manifest all the symptoms of sea,
sickness In the yard outside the auphitheatra
door that are to be seen on the deck OF an er-
cursion steamer off Sandy Hook when the
Volunteer and Thistle are sailing In half =
gale. This paralyzing weakness Is no re-
specter OF persons Young men Of strong.
robust temperament, who don't know what
physical fear is, and who are sure that the
sight Of little blood would never make
them Vince, are more frequently the victims
OF this Involuntary faintness than are their
weaker classmates.
10 many the fumes Of ether are iiauseatinp.
and the effects Of their emotions are thus in
tens fed. Your correspondent was careful
to ascribe his squeamishness on the occasion
OF his first visit to this cause Many encoun-
ters with the CHASTITY features of great rail
road accidents, autopsies, murders, and sim
liar horrors had, however, made him proof
against the more violent symptoms Of the
anphitheatre maiady. His own immunity
led him TO make serious mistake a few
weeks ago He yielded to the solicitations OF
young man who was anxious to see the
mysteries of the operating room, and be in
yited him to make visit one operating day.
The young man had helped care for one or
two victims OF accident, and was quite sure
his nerve would not give way at sight Of any
amount Of blood letting. The writer had
some misgivings. and he insisted that the
young man should at first take a back seat
whence he could make his way out quietly in
case his feelings overcame him. The first
case brought In was an infant requiring a
slight operation upon the head The child
was too young to be put under anasthetics
The first touch Of the knife brought a tiny
drop of blood The moment it appeared the
writer heard from the seat behind him. where
his friend sat- a long drawn "Ga-a-a,n and
then a thump. The young man who thought
| he would enjoy seeing a leg sawed off had
| keeled over at the sight of single drop of
| blood
The prelirninaries and accessories of an
operation at public hospital are worth de
i scribing. The only difference in the treat
/ ment OF free patient as compared with one
/ who pays regular fees is that the former
| passes under the surgeons hands in the pres
| ence of class of students. Generally speak
| ing, it is n wise course for any one requiring
surgical treatment to enter hospital for the
purpose rather than submit to an operation
/ at home. The reasons are almost obvious
/ Within arms reach almost of the surgeon at
a great hospital is every instrument and APP
pliance known to science for dealing with
any emergency that can possibly arise. There
are always available convenient mechanical
arrangements that contribute to speed and
thoroughness in the work, which cannot pos
sibly be made use of IN private dwelling.
1t frequently happens, therefore, that per-
sous of wealth, and with good homes, who
require the aid of surgeons skill, make a
visit to the hospital for the purpose.
As a rule the patient never sees the operat-
ing room where he has been treated He
goes in completely unconscious, and he is
snugly tucked up in bed before he realizes
that he has faced the ordeal which he has
been dreading. Even the free patients never
know that they have passed under the eye:
of more than the doctors and the nurses The
etherizatiou of the patients is always done in
a small room outside the operating theatre
1t is a process which some people dread mors
than an operation itself Others enjoy it
and even indulge occasionally in an "ethei
drunk so pleasurabe are the sensations il
brings them. Patients attacked by nausea
and suffocating sensations sometimes have
a hard time, and so do the attendants whS
have them in charge The antics of patient
in the Excitement stage and before stupe
faction begins are often amusing. Just as il
the case of a man under the influence o
liquor, only in more exaggerated degree,
person partially under the effects of al
antnsthetic sometimes develops qualities O
mind and disposition that are, to say tn
least, unsuspected and surprising. Others
on the contrary, yield calmly and without
struggle to the soporific influence of tn
ether cone, and are soon deep In an insen
siblity that no surgeons scalpel can disturb
There are two and sometimes three or fou
assistants to the operating surgeon IN an,
case. The duty of one is to tend exclusivel
to the, administration of ether Sometime
the young man assigned to this duty has hi
hands full. The ether is administered eithe
by means of a large, shell shaped spongt
which covers the mouth and nose, or with
cone of similar size, covered with napki
and partly filled with small sponges, whlc
hold the ether Every two OF three minute
! aspoonful or two of the anasthetic is poure
, into the sponge or cone, and most OF the tiin'
! unless the operation is upon the face, tn
nose and mouth are left covered III the ps
! tient should be attacked with choking c
nausea, or If the teeth become tightly set, :
\ frequently happens, the young man Win u
ether cone must apply the proper remedy
= One difficulty that sometimes arises Is III
falling back of the tongue INTO the rear {
tile mouth, causing danger of suit catiol
| and to avoid this the patients head is Away
| kent turned to one side The duty OF Il
|. other assistants, who are graduates OF U
medical school getting hospital practice b