Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1895-12-10
TaePAiNlNa A LION.
AN INTERESTING OPERATION THAT
PROMISES TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
trrom the All. ata cons,itution.)

(rrom the Atl; lta Constitution.)
The Young lion Of the Hagenbeck show
that was so desperately wounded by
lioness last week was successfully Oper-
ated upon Yesterday after loon and the
depression OF the skull was lifted from
the brain of the animal. The operation
was one that required not only skill 10
the use Of the knife, but nerve on the
part of the surgeons who worked so dan
gerously near the jaws of the lion.
In room OF the livery stable OF MIR.
vandyke the lion was placed and while
several strong men held the tortured
beast, Drs. II. G. and w. +. Carnes per-
formed the operation. The lion has been
In comatose state for several days and
suffered many convulsions during the
time the skull was pressed against the
brain. At times he was wild and would
tear his flesh with his claws and then
again he would be as docile as child and
could not be aroused from the restless
sleep into which he had fallen. His keep
ers daily expected the lion to die, as the
skull had been flattened out until more
than square inch OF bone pressed hard
against the brain.
One dsy Ia, week the lion was savage
" attacked By a lioness that occupied an
adjoining cage. The lion was eating his
afternoon meal OF beefsteak, when the
lioness reared against the wooden parti-
ton separating the cages. The lioness
threw her whole weight against the
light partition and with n crash the in-
furiated best and partition fell into the
cage occupied by the young lion.
The lion pounced upon the young lion
with all the fury that Is peculiar to this
class of animals. The lion was taken
completely by surprise, and was at a
great disadvantage. IA he turned with
growl TO see what had c..used the
. tito to fall he was caught in the
W de open mouth OF the lioness and fear
fully bitten. The lioness leaped up into
the air and fell upon her prey. ~
caught his head In her mouth AID closed
down uponit The fangs penetrated the
thick hide and the skull rk benesth
the pressure.
The lion was hardly able to stand aud
could but stagger about the cage Ia
da zed way. In few minutes after the
attack he was sci cd with convul.ions.
His manner was pitiable ard he wodld
writhe In agony, then leaping up would
fall from weakness. His feet would be
drawn up TO his body, and his tail lashed
fearfully against the bars. AZ he writh-
ed upo the floor he would claw nj every
thing that came within reach. Catching
the iron = he would wrench them
from their places. His claws were COM
pletely torn from the flesh of one foot, he
frothed at the mouth.
DIR. Carnes, the veterinary surgeon,
was called In and requested to make an
examination Of the lion and see II there
was any possibility OF saving his life. DIR.
Carnes thoroughly examined the wounds
and found the skull had been badly In
dented and that IL rested upon the brain.
There was but one way In which death
could be prevented and that was by
trephining the skull aud lifting the de-
pressed bone and relieving the pressure.
As last resort this operation was de-
cided upon.
The lion was placed upon the table ar
ranged for him. The animal was suffer-
ing intensely and was In dangerously
bad humor. Occasionally he would
yrowl savagely and open his ,w and
snap at those who were nearest To him.
A number OF gliste1iug instruments
were taken from n leather case and
placed on chair. A pan Of warm water
was secured and sponges were at hand.
A bottle OF ether and chloroform we're
poured into wsd OF cotton and the cot
ton was placed under the nose OF the lion
His feet were securely tied with ropes
and he was held firmly upon the table
by several strong men. When the tirst
fumes of the ether were inhaled the lion
made strenuous efforts TO tear himself
away. He roared and snorted and kicked
with all his might, but he was held down
upop the table. For nearly 80 minutes
the ether was held under his nose. He
resisted the sleep giving compound, ibut
gradually fell into an easy and pc .cefui
sleep. His pain was allayed and like
cat he purred and snorted, while the
surgeons made ready.
AZ soon az the lion was throughly
under the influence OF the chloroform,
which was administered by DR.. II. u.
Carnes, the operation was begun. Ii was
necessary, however, that great care be
exercised in giving the anasthetic, as
the lion was in danger OF dying from
the effects of an overdose. DR.. w. +.
Carnes first made V incision. The
hide and skin of the lion were very
| tough and it was difficult to make the
incision. Gradually the flesh gave way
under the pressure Of the knife and the
skull was laid bare. The fracture had
occurred on the right side Of the head.
and II was just TO the left OF the fracture
that the incision was made. After the
incision was made the trephine was in-
serted and a small opening was bored
into the skull. This was the most dan
gerous part OF the operation, for like an
auger, the instrument bores its way
through the bone. IL any part OF the
skull has fallen into the brain, which Is
exposed just as soon as the instrument
pierces entirely through the skull, 1t
would have meant certain death for the
animal.
When the trephine had reached the in
side of the skull, the instrument was
given quick turn, which broke the thin
inside covering. and the small PARTICLES
were caught with pair Of strong forceps
and pulled out in pieces. The opening
| I'm the skull was made an inch TO the left
of the depression. When the opening
had been finished Sun III instrument was
inserted. The instrument is Of peculiar
shape and curved at the end. Down
through the skull the piece of steel was
dressed and then turned directly under
the depression. After this was done 1t
was an easy matter to lift the bone from
the brain. The bone was restored to Its
former position and then the incision
was sewed up and the place pressed.
As soon as the lion recovered from the
effects of the drugs he bodnded loose
from the ropes that held him and ieaped
across the floor of the room. He was at
first little dazed from the effects OF the
chloroform, but gradually regained his
senses. DR.. Carnes stated after the
operation that the lion would be per-
fectly well in a few days, as there was
now no danger from the wound. The
lion Is about two years old and was very
valuable before he was injured.