Omaha daily bee., 1897-12-25
ALIVE WITHJUT A, STOMACH
Heretofore Considered Vital Part Of the
Body Removed.
WONDERFUL FEAT OF MODERN SURGERY
Woman Advanced in Years Has Her
stomach successfully Removed
by Doctor in
Switzerland. .,A

NEW YORK, Dec. 24.-The Medical Rec,
ord will tomorrow publish the following ac-
count OF the first successful removal of a
human stomach:
The feat itself is the most brilliant and
daring ever attempted In recent surgical his
tory. but the attendant discovery that the
etomach Is not a vital organ is even more
important. Hitherto II has been considered
utterly impossible for person to live with
out stomach. With the fall of this long
recognized axiom the Old theories Of medl-
cine and surgery may be entirely changed
and the field of possibilities which the dis
covery opens up is practically limitlese.
THE operation which has startled the
medical world was performed In Zurich.
Switzerland by DR.. Carl Schlatter on Sep
tember last. The subject was Anna Lands,
Sc years old. and a silk weaver. This woman
had complained for years of stomach trou
bic. DR.. Schlatter diagnosed the olse AMI
found she was suffering from an exception
ally large oval tumor in her stomach. Lapor-
otomy was performed and DR.. Schlatter
found that the womans entire stomach pre-
sented hard mass. And then this Daring
operator. seeing that the organ wac useless,
went to work and freed it from its delicate
attachments, cutting. twisting and campins
among the most vital organs with the cool
ness and deliberation Of expert dentist
drawing hard tooth. The technical opera
tion can only be appreciated by members OF
the medical profession.
FORMS NEW CONNECTIONS.
when DR.. Schlatter had excised the en-.
tire stomach he firmly united a small cOil
of intestine to the oe1ophagus thus making
u direct connection between the alimentary
csnal and the bowels. The work OF joining
the intestine and the oesophagus was most
delicate. They were bound together with
sutures. The organs were allowed to drop
back into their positions, the abdominal
wound was sewed up, and all there was to
show that Anna Landis had lost her stomach
was slight retraction toward the diaphragm.
| The operation lasted nearly two hours and
| a half. The less of blooa was slight
''The period following proved that the
| sterilization had been perfect and the opera
tion wonderfully performed. The patient. al.
| though old and feeble, exhibited but few of
! the serious symptoms that usually follow a
! vital operation. Minute quantities of liquid
! food we're given to her at short intervals
| With the exception of occasional vomiting
| this food seemed to be assimilated despite
| the absence of a food receptacle. In the Sec
ond week after the operation she given
| solid food. 1t retained and digested
| without discomfort, and even DR.. Schlatter
| himself marveled at the almost unexpected
| success of his bold work. He was handi-
| capped in giving the patient solid food be-
cause. she only had one tooth left in her
| head. -. ,..-
! "On October II, month and FIVE days
after the stomach had been removed, Anna
/ Lands left her bed BY November 25 she
was feeling perfectly well andywas walking
about. Her weight increased and apparently
| she was in far better health than before the
| operation. .tE r.tt
| PATIENT HAS MANY VISITORS.
DIR. Edmund Charles Wendt of New York
| City, the correspondent OF the Medical Rec
! ord, who obtained DR.. Schlatters personal
account OF the feat, states that on the 9th OF
| this month he saw Anna Lands and to all
| intents ami purposes she is well woman.
| She is still under observation at the Zurich
| County hospital, but is able to do her full
| share OF work in the wards She has had
many medical visitors from all quarters of
| the globe, and by this time has grown quite
/ proud of her depleted body,
| DIR. Wendt concludes from the successful
removal of this stomach that the human
| stomach is not vital organ; that the dl-
| gestive capacity of the stomach has been
conciderably overrated; that ga,u in weight
may tlke place despite the absence CT gastric
activity; that vomiting may occur without a
stomach and that the chemical functions OF
The human stomach can be satisfactorily per-
formed by the other divisions of the alimen-
| tary canal"
Commenting upcu all these things. the
Meiical Record editorially will say: What
| ever we may veuture pro or con on the ques-
tiCn a. issue, ,,le fact appears to be proven
that the human subject can live and be rea-
sonably active for months at "a time without
any stomach wEctever add obtain all the nee
oaslry digestion and nourishment from what
remains of The intestinal tract. Is it posi-
BILE that the latter may have new set OF
functions not yet understood or has the i'm
| pcrt.uce OF stomach digestion been misaQ-
pretended and overrated? In any event we
areb rought face to face with a very curious
demonstration, which destroys the validity
OF many preconceived ideas, nnd in a great
measure nullfies the results of mGuy pre-
vious experiments.
I'm tine matter Of a brilliant achievement
the operation takes first rank and the dar-
ing and brilliant surgeon will receive the
well deserved congratulations of his peers
throughout the world. He has optQed the
first chapter in a new history Of surgical
| triumphs."