The morning call., 1891-12-25
A LIFE SAVED.
The Stomach of Dog Trans
ferred to a Mans Body.
Details of Remarkable Operation Said to
Have Recently Been Performed at st.
Luke's Hospital, New York.

Every person can regulate the diet so as to
avoid taking those things which are in
furious, but there are few who are situated
so that they must, as means of earning
livelihood, do some things that are injurious
to the health. Sometimes the injury comes
In an insidious way, and the full extent is not
known until there is sudden break in the
health ard the person becomes a hopeless
physical wreck. A case of this kind is that
OF James Hopcroft private patient at st.
Luke Hospital. New York. HOpcrOft is
tea-broker. and spent several years in China
and Japan as the representative OF an En-
glish syndicate in the tea trade. For the
last fifteen years he has been tea-taster,
| and has the reputation of being the best
sampler in the world. lie is known every
| where to the trade, and has received many
messages of sympathy since he has been at
the hospital. Tea is commonly believed to
be harmless stimulant, though of very
little use as article of diet. 1t is not
nutritious, but has an effect upon the action
OF the heart and increases the force of the
circulating blood. Millions of persons
have used tea without any apparent ill
effect when taken in moderation, and vet
tea is responsible for sending Hopcroft to
the hospital and giving surgery chance to
make new record.
In sampling teas Hopcruft made a point
to swallow little to get the full flavor. No
| one could conceive that any harm could
come from this, but after several years he
was attacked with gdstrltis and severe In
ternal Inflammation, due it was supposed,
to taking some poisonous food. The real
cause was not thought of until after he be-
came convalescent and returned to the
sampling. Then in few months the 5vmp-
toms Of gastrltis appeared again, and he had
even worse attack than the first The
constant inflammation pauSn6 nv the
which acted like an irrtant, had set up
chronic condition OF disease in the internal
organs.
Hopcroft was unable to take any food in
the natural way. Everything which he ate
was Immediately rejected by the stomach,
and the esophagus was so sensitive that
even the contact with liquid of any kind,
warm or cold, would produce Spasm which
threatened to shut the wndpipe and stop
the patients breath. The patient lost flesh
rapidly under the enforced starving pro-
cess, and it was evident that it was only
question of few days when HOpcroft
would be numbered with the dead.
DR.. Pendleton made careful eXamina-
ton of the patients body and decided to
make an exploratory inciSion into the abdo-
men to find out the cause of the trouble.
Ether was administered to the patient and
when he became unconscious the abdomen
was opened in the median line. The sur
geon discovered that the stomach was very
thick and heavy and indicated the presence
of new growth.
The abdominal inciSion was enlarged and
the stomach drawn from the body. The
wall of the stomach was cut into and dis
CLOSED that the entire membrane was
affected with cancer. Without a moments
delay hgatureS were tied around the affected
organs and the tubes were severed close to
the lgature. The tissue in the entire sec
tons removed had been completely broken
down by the disease. When every portion
had been cut out that showed any signs of
disease the entire abdomen WAS washed out
with the bichloride of mercury solution.
Then large Newfoundland dog was
brought TO the operating-room, given ether
and the abdomen was opened quickly. The
end of the stomach with the esophagus was
cut first about four inches above the point of
union and stitched to the esophagus in the
patient. Then the intestinal end was severed
two feet from the stomach and made fast
in the patient with silk sutures. This trans
fer was made as quickly as possible, but the
dogs stomach was not put inside the body,
as the surgeon wanted to wait until the
parts of union had healed sufficiently to
warrant the belief that there would be
perfect union. This was evident at the end
of three days, and the stomach, which had
been kent at normal heat by artificial
means. was dropped into the patients body.
| 1t is now doing good work, and the food
| digests just well in it as in the human
| stomach. The patient is gaining in weight
| and will soon be able TO leave the hospital
| The dog lied on the operating table, and
his Skeletons an attractive feature to the
visitors of Woods Medical Museum.-NeW
York special to Cincinnati Enquirer.