Huntsville gazette., 1894-12-01
LOCKJAW RELIEVED.
Brilliant Victory Of Surgery Over
the Dreaded Malady.
1T WAS A LITTLE IRREGULAR,

But Why Kill a Patient Scientifically
Means Not Down in the Books ?-Miss
Hetherington in the Hands of New York
Hospital Surgeons.
NEW YORK, Nov 30.-The surgeon 8
scalpel was welded with new triumph
at the Long Island clinic, and pretty
young woman, dying of acute trismus,
or malignant lockjaw, was cured, to the
joy and amazement of the profession
present This Is said TO be the first trial
of surgery in the treatment of this ex-
citing disease.
In its mild form trismus is cured IN
about five cases out of ten, but when
acute is always considered fatal inside
Of is hours. The result of the opera
ton caused the widest enthusiasm
among the physicians and surgeons in
vited to attend, and the method is to be
widely published i'll the medical jour
mails. 1t is Furthermore believed that it
will be universally adopted i'll all the
hospitals of the world in due time.
The fortunate subject Of the recovery
is Miss Marguerite Hetherington. of ia
maica, one of the largest suburbs of
this city Although the sufferer of the
most rigid paroxysms for nearly three
days, Miss Hetherington has success
fully survived two extremely painful
operations, and is feeling, she says, ION
very good terms with herself and the
surgeons.
Miss HetheringtOn was first discov-
cred with the symptoms of the dreadful
malady at daybreak, when her younger
sister, with whom she roOmed, aroused
the family and announce that Margu-
rete must have hydrophobia, as her
face was temporarily conyulsed when a
glass Of water was handed to her.
By the time Miss Hetherington ar
rived at the hospital her jaws were per
fectly sealed She had eaten nothing
in several days, and was very weak.
Her life was dispaired of. The opera
tion known as tracheotomy-that OF
opening the throat-had to be per-
formed at once, III order to obtain prop
Ell nourishment and stinulant for one
suffering so much agony, and to avoid
exhaustion as much as possible. By
tracheotomy glass tube connection in
to the gullet or esophagus-the long
muscular tube carrying food to the
stomach-was obtained. But this had
no effect on the continuous spasmodic
contractions which dwarfed those ex-
hibited in a right lively case of
SNAKE" and were terrible to witness.
Chloroform, III fact. proved to be the
only relief, though the young woman s
heart being affected, made it diffiult and
most dangerous to administer, As was
expected, chloroform had to be aban-
doned, and the q 'sease soon became nm
comfortable, the fair victim becoming
more and more exhausted as the awfnl
spasms increased in violence.
At this period trial for life was de.
termined upon by the surgical staff
Miss HetheringtOn was again brought
into the operating amphitheater, and
ether administered. Several of the
most prominent surgeons i'll the city
were sent for to witness the operation,
and act in consultation with Professor
Bedoe, who had decided to use the knife
| in a new field.
A delicate incision directly under the
left jaw was first made, and then the
operator dissected from the flesh, and
severed a small portion of that branch
of the facial nerves opening the jaws
which was fQnnd i'll highly diseased
condition In this way the enemy was
captured, and could cause no more trou-
bic, but now it became Question rs
to whether the victim had strength to
recover her former position.
10 crown the efforts Of the surgeons,
Miss Hetherington recovered conscious
ness, and soon after began opening and
closing her mouth with but slight diff
Guilty. The wound in the throat was
closed, and the glass tube placed in the
mouth, through which nourishment
will be taken until the artificial opening
in the throat is fully healed. When
this is done, and the swelling reduced
to the normal size, perfect cure will
be the result of an actual experiment
| with life and death, which, though eX-
tremely daring, and may provoke no
little harsh criticism from the old school,
is certainly fully justified.
1t may be well to remark in conclu-
sion that if by this new method for
merly incurable form of disease is mas
tered, why discourage it because it is
not Ill accorance with surgical classics