San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-10-13
.SPMPHYsEOTOMY.


The Operation Performed for the
First Time in the United
states as a Substitute for
the Caesarean.
From the Philadelphia Press.
The rare operation of symphyseoto-
my, never before performed in this
country. was successfully performed
at the University Maternity Hospita
on Monday, and up to yesterday both
mother and child. female, were do.
ing well. The patient is q young
German girl, married, who can not
speak English, and has only been at
the institute about q week. The OPP
GRAFTON occupied twenty five minutes
of physicians and students. The wo-
man was under the influence OF ether
all the time
said DR.. r F. Harris yesterday, Twas
performed by DR.. Barton q. Hirst. 1t
is decided advance upon the Casa
rean operation, which endangered the
mothers lite 10 save the child. while
the Objectionable series of cuts known
to the profession as craniotomy was a
simple deliberate killing of the child
by manning IL in the head to reduce
the size of the Uranium or else piercing
q hole in the top of the head. The
novel operation just performed and
styled symphyseotomy is simple, safe
and expeditions. The pelvis OF the
woman has, of course, three joints.
By cutting the one In front the parts
are released and the anatomical frame
work is thus permitted to open as q
pair of caIlipers. The child comes
to the world alive and the mother.
after the usual methods of healing
and bsndaging, RECEIVERS.
AN OBSOLETE METHOD.
1.-THE present operation was witt
nessd by myself, DR.. Richard G. Nor
ris and q few students. The opera
ton itself is not new one in the an
nails of surgery, but by curious
state of affairs has become for long
time obsolete. At present its history
and performance are beginning to
awaken the interest of the whole pro-
fession all over the world. There has
not been q single operation of sym.
physeotomy In Paris for seventy years
until this year, and in Germany not
one for fifty years until some months
since. At Naples the record Is differ.
ent. Symphyseotomy as factor In
surgery had entirely died out until
1866, W hen an idea of its Importance
took root in Naples The previous
year a physician, settled at Bologna,
achieved note by performing the cut.
The success of it created furore, aud
the next year that surgeon removed
to Naples, where, for the past thirty
years. he has performed every opera
tlon of the kind there. The number
of cases of il in Europe are forty-six,
and only one woman dled. She was
in poor condition physically, aud had
just undergone other operations of d
trying nature. The lives of the
children were preserved in every
case.
Altogether, symphyseotomy is the
least dangerous of the few operations
of delicate nature intervening be-
fore birth that are countenanced in
the profession. The Casaresn oper-
stion is not as dangerous as it might
be when performed by the unskill-
full, out the one just completed so
successfully is an immense improve
ment, inasmuch as IL entails no in
reference with the sensitive female
organs and leaves the abdomen IN
touched. Symphyseotomy, by dis
placing craniOtomy, obviates all
danger to the child, while saving the
mother.
THE CATAoLIC CHURCH'S OPPOSITION.
"The Catholic church has opposed
the latter operation because it sacri-
fees a soul before baptism. and many
herioc woman has been obliged to
die to save her child. In one case 1t
required the interven ton OF the priest
before the horror of craniOtomy in the
mind of q Catholic woman could be
overcome.
1.-The child born on Monday under
such unusual conditions is girl of
normal development and apparently
in an excellent physical condition.
While it would be premature to say
that the feat just accomplished has
proven an unqualified success, have
60 much confidence in the result that
l am putting myself In readiness for
more operations OF the kind within
the next few months. A very ex'
haustive report of the whole matter ts
being prepared for the medical re-
views 1t will have a good effect, not
merely in lessenIDg the dread of some
features of maternity, but in control
ling that tendency among country
physicians to perform the operation of
craniotomy. The latter is cOmpsra-
lively easy, and many physicians
have sacrificed infants remorselessly
by their haste to undertake this sur
gical performance.
'Trememb Der the indignation arous-
ed at meeting of one of the medical
societies not long ago when country
| doctor arose and said he had perform