The Saint Paul globe., 1897-10-17
DEADEHS THE NERVE
NEW ANAESTHETIC EUCAINE En-
PERIMENTED WITH AT JAMES
TOWN HOSPITAL.
NEW ULM MYSTERY CLEARED.
TO THE MURDER OF POLICE
MAN WINKELMANN.

| JAMESTOWN, N. D., Oct. 16 "A re-
cent experiment with eucaine, the new
! Undiscovered anaesthetic, at the state
| hospital for the insane in this city,
| have been entirely successful. Hereto
| fore there has been no known method
of artificially producing an insensibility
| entirely free from risks of death, and
| deaths have occasionally occurred un-
| der the administration of anaesthetiC
vapors. With this latest discovery To-
cal insensibility can be produced, leaV-
! ing the remainder of the body in its
| normal state.
The new substance, which comes from
| Germany, was recently obtained by Su
| perintendent Moore Of the asylum and
a series of experiments entirely salts
| factory in results was obtained.
| The severest test was the amputa-
ton, at the lower third, of the right leg
| of a fnan sixty-eight years old without
! the use Of either chloroform or ether,
| followed by rapid and painless healing
| of the stump. The disease which neces-
STATED the removal of the leg was the
! death of the bones of the foot, ankle
! and the bones of the leg Immediately
above the latter, causing inflammation
and sloughing of the softer parts, fever
and general prostration being attendant
| upon the absorption of poisonous ma
| terials by the circulation. Unless the
operation had been performed death
would have been inevitable. He had for
years been a sufferer from rheumatism
which had effected his heart and this,
with his age aud general debility, made
the use Of a genel al anaeSthetic very
unsafe and dangerous.
AS much of the eucaine was put into
two or three tableSpOOnfulS of water as
the water would dissolve and with a
hyperdermic syringe few drops of the
solution were injected under the skin.
About an inch from the center of the
injection another was made and then
another, until the limb was girdled by
| them at the place where it was intend
ed to amputate. After waiting about
five minutes to allow of the superficial
tissues becoming insensible, th> needle
was thrust deeply into the musclcG and
injections made. In a few minutes all
that portion of the leg, including three
or four inches above and below the
ring of injections, was found to be
destitute of feeling and the operation
of cutting off the limb was proceeded
with exactly as if the patient were un-
der chloroform. When the deeper tis-
sues were cut into slight smarting
sensation was experienced few times
by the patient, which was Immediately
| relieved by the application Of a little
more of the solution directly to the
seat of the discomfort. No other pain
was experienced and the patient ate his
breakfast as usual, the operation being
performed in the afternoon, and an
hour after the dressing Of the stump
he was sitting up in bed eating dinner.
At the end of nine days dressings were
removed, stitches taken out and the
stump found entirely healed. The pa
ticnt's general health has much i'm
proved since the operation. He has
gained in flesh and strength and the
constant pain, as we'll as the danger OF
blood poisoning, caused by the decay
ing Of the bone, is a thing of the past.
Eucaine is substance prepared from
South American plant; it is similar in
its local action to cocaine but without
any of the poisonous effects of the lat
ter, even though it be employed in
much larger doses. 1t is undoubtedly
calculated to replace cocaine. while in
many cases such as the above it will
be utilized for the painless performance
of operations in which the use of
chloroform or ether was formerly
thought to be indispensable