The Waco evening news. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 1891-1894, 1892-02-09
OPENS THE SKULL
DR.. HAMMOND'S WONDERFUL Elk.
PERTINENT

by which He Hopes by Relieving Pressure
ON the Brain to Restore AN Idiot to Hi-
Senses Patient Doing Well, Tempera.
ture Normal.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 9.-If novel
surgical operation which was performed
here is successful, there will be one idiot
less in the world. Ex-Surgeon General
William A. Hammond, assisted by three
surgeons, opened the skull of an i'm.
beetle, removed large amount of bone,
closed the skull and expects that the
patient will not only recover, but will
be a level-headed man This is the first
operation of the kind ever performed
upon an adult. A reporter saw General
Hammond and asked who the patient
was. He refused to give his name, but
said that he was the son of prominent
foreign family.
This gentleman said the doctor,
was placed in my care few days age
by his father to be treated for imbecility.
He is young man of "a. Up to the age
of 20 he was possessed of remarkable
you might even say, bright intellect.
He had been through college and stood
well i'll his class. Soon after reaching
the age of 20 he began to show evidences
of failing mental power. When l saw
him four years after that he was almost
a complete idiot, at which time he was
placed under my charge. He would SIT
by the hour staring at vacancy and
laughing in silly way. His speech
was incoherent and he rarely gave "a
logical answer to a question.
His general physical health was very
strong. After thorough examination
/ came to the conclusion that his failing
mental power was due to the dispropor
ton of and growth between the brain
and the skull; that his brain had grown
faster than his skull had grown. and as a
consequence is pressed against the inner
surface of the skull, subjecting thu
whole brain to pressure and
Retarding Its Development.
"Trepanning was decided upon, and
today performed the operation, having
first obtained full sanction from ms
father to do anything | thought proper
to do. | was assisted by Dr. Fisher and
DR.. Tompkins and the late surgeon gen.
eral of the Chilean army, DR.. Middleton.
81 first made semi-lunar inciSion
in the scalp at point about ,! inches
above the eye on the left side, turned
back the flap and with trephine re-
I,,et e
holes in the skull at distance of about
three-fouths of an inch from each other
L then, with pair of gouging forceps
removed the intervening bone so that ii
made one large opening in the skull
about two inches and half in length
by one inch in width. The scalp was
then brought forward and the wound
closed. A corresponding operation was
then performed on the other side imme
diately over the right eye. so that had
holes in the skull such as describe, GOV.
ering them with the scalp, the patient OF
course being all this time under the
influence of an anasthetic of ether
Antiseptic measures were used during
the operation-so that l anticipate that
the wounds will heal in healthy way
The patient came very near dying from
heart failure, not rallying well from the
other but by hyperdermic injections OF
whisky repeated several times he was
brought out of his weak state and at
this time, eight hours after the opera.
ton, his pulse is &c and respiration a.
temperature normal.
Now, what hope from the opera.
ton is that the removal of this large
quantity of bone from the skull will
enable the brain to expand and take off
the pressure. l may say that the brain
after the removal of bone rose in the
opening more than it usually does, giving
the appearance of the pressure having
been removed from it. 1t will take
three or four weeks to determine what
has been the result upon the mind of
this young man, and in the meantime he
may possibly, although l do not think
he will, die from inflammation of the
brain as a direct consequence of the
operation"