Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-04-07
4 puI REMOVAL
Growth Of Several Inches Follows a
Surgical Operation.


forming and extending itself from a
severed end of bone in the leg, ILL
ing a. space seven inches in length,
exists in the ,person Of Boyd Folwell,
16 years Of age, says the Philadel.
phia Press. Last July an operation
was performed on hun. A piece Of
sheep bone was grated into the leg,
to replace a section of the tibia,
which had become diseased and was
removed.
Dr.. Carl Vischer, who performed
the operation, said that the graft
was not brilliant success, but the
results which followed were remark
able and entirely satisfactory to him.
After the failure of the grated bone
to unite with the ends of the tibia
and notwithstanding the fact that
the periosteum had been destroyed,
a callous formed, he said, and began
to build up bone material from the
upper stump Of the original bone. AS
this new formation proceeded the
sheep bone which had been inserted
gradually dissolved.
This new bone has already extend
ed itself to almost unite with the
lower stump, the portions of the
sheep bone have been taken out and
the physician hopes to see the for
nation continue until the leg is per-
fectly united, when the patient will
be as sound physically as any other
boy. The sheep bone was taken out
two months ago and the boy is now
able to walk moderately.
Physicians are very much inter-
ested in the history Of the case, in
stances where similar results followed
bone grating having been extremely
rare.
As a consequence OF hurt or fe-
yer, it is not decided which, the boys
right leg became sore early last sum-
mer and, after an examination, DIR.
Vischer discovered that the tibia was
diseased. After treating the leg
some time the surgeon saw that if he
would save the leg that portion of
the bone which was affected would
have to be removed. He decided
upon the operation and on July 3
took out a section of the bone about
seven inches in length. This left q
short stump below the knee, but
nothing at the ankle, the bone be-
ing taken out to the socket Joint.
DR.. Vischer then took o piece of
green bone from a sheep and inserted
this in the leg.
Time went on, but the grating
was not satisfactory to DR.. Vischer,
and about the middle of November
he made another examination. He
discovered that the two bones had
not joined, and further noticed that
from the knee stump there had been
a free discharge of protaplasms, form
ing callous, and this growth had
hardened and was forming a new bone.
He took away the sheep bone, which
had dissolved because of lack of
nourishment, and putting a brace on
the leg closely observed the growth,
which has since continued rapidly.
DR.. Vischer said similar cases were
not infrequent, and he did not re-
gard it as strange. 1.-THE portion of
bone taken off was about seven inches
long and it had to be done or else
the leg would have been lost" said
he. The sheep bone was inserted,
but the grating was not a brilliant
success. 1t was not failure, though,
and proved again what follows in
many cases of grating. The growth
we call callous and came from the
stump above. 1t is of the nature OF
new bone formation. When the per-
iosteum is not removed from the out
side of the bone taken out, new ma
terial will form. But here the peri
oSteum was removed and this new
formation extended itself from the
cid bone.
"This growth is hardening as it
proceeds and while as yet it has not
fully united and a perfect new bone
formed, / think it may. The boy Is
now able to walk a little and in q
short time expect he will be able to