The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-06-10
Peculiar Operation on Miss
HuttcnbrauCk.
Her Skull Was Trephined and
a TumOr Washed Away.
II il Remained in WOman'S Brain
il Would Have Proved Fatal.

New York, June l0.-Susan Hutton
brauck endured rare and dangerous
operation with remarkable fortitudo at
Bellevue Hospital yesterday. Her cour-
age was inspired and supported by her
love for her old mother, whose mainstay
she is When she was told that 10 was
question of life and death, that the oper-
alton must be performed or she would
die. she answered simply:
81 havo to live and she looked at
her mother--"So will undergo It. f"
Miss Huttenbrauck is 29 years old, q
saleswoman, who lives with her widowed
mother, Mrs. Caroline Huttenbrauck, at
$40 East Twentieth street The young
woman has for some time shown obscure
symptoms of brain disease. she has been
"a patient of Prof. Woolsley Of bellevue
Hospital Medical Collegen The symptoms
puzzled his skill so yesterday be took
her TO the surgical ward of Bellevue
Hospital and repeated the history OF her
disease to DIR. A. w. Hoyt, head Of the
house surgical staff.
She Had Tumor of the Brain.
DIR. Hoyt after consultation with Drs.
Dickwell and Birge, of the surgical staf,
decided that Miss Huttenbrauck had u
tunor of the brain, and that 10 save her
life an immediate operation was neces-
sary. At 80 y. m. yesterday she was put
under ether, readily and willingly yield
ing herself TO the anaesthetic. Besides
those mentioned, Prof. Fischer. OF Belle
vue, and Prof. star, who lectures on ner-
vous diseases at the College of Physicians
and Surgeons, were present.
DIR. Hoyt performed the operation.
First he trephincd the young woman s
skull. taking piece of bone the size of n
silver dollar from the parietal bone on the
risr ya1 nf I'm fsafA Asaf h.r Slrtnl hnV
he passed small and delicate needle.
with "a cutting edge at the end, through
the opening of the skull and removed a
bit of her brain about as big as pea.
Examination Of this proved that the doc
tors diagnosis of the obscure case was
correct-that Miss Huttcnbrauck had u
tumor of the brain. But the tumor was
yet Of soft consistency-what Is known
medically as an Initiating tumor. Should
the tumor become hard or should the pres
sure of the soft tumor become greater Miss
Huttenbrauck would surely die.
Bat SO soft was the tumor that it was
not necessary 10 cut it ont. You have
heard of sweeping away cobwebs from
mans brain. That is figuratiye. But lit
orally, Dr. Hoyt swept away this soft
mass from Miss Huttenbrauck's brain
with a little sponge and delicate stream
Of warm water until II gradually flowed
from the opening in her skull. DR.. Hoyt
believes that he LETT the brain sound and
healthy; that it emerged from its bath
refreshed and vigorous, just as a weary
man springs from tub of tepid water.
Miss Huttenbrauck soon "came up"
from the ether as the surgeons say, in
very good spirits and courageous. The
first words she said when she had her
senses together were:
Where's mother
But her mother, unable TO bear the
strain of her feelings, had gone home
The circle Of bone from the young
woman's head was put in an antiseptc
solution and today, probably, it will be
replaced in Miss Huttenbrauck' s parietal
bone, where in the course of time, it will
adhere
A Successful Operation.
DIR. Hoyt was very highly complimented
upon the success of his delicate operation.
1t Is probable that the doctor will de-
scribe IL in one OF his medical journals,
for there only do such practitioners like
TO see themselves in print. The doctor 5
description of the operation Will be more
technical than this, OF course, and more
modest rs concerns himself.
But this serves TO tell laymcn how a
woman's brain was washed out.