The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-09-13
IN HIS BODY
YARDS OF Wire
Forty-fve Feet Of Silver
Thread Cooled Near a
Mans Heart.
Wonderful Operation to Save
the Life of Machinist
DehertOghe.
His Injured Aorta Rendered Service
able by Remarkable Sur
gical Device.

A surgical operation, remarkable IN 1t
self and wonderful for its so far successful
result, has been performed by DR.. G. Had
len Carlson upon Adrian Dehertoghe,
veteran and ski!lful machinist of this city.
Fifteen yards of silver wire, as large
around as an ordinary hypodermic needle,
have been introduced into and colled with
in his aorta, the great arterial channel
leading directly from the heart.
Those fortY-five feet of wire have been IN
there for three months. and they have
saved his life. They were inserted at a
time when death seemed certain because
of com plications resulting from a severely
injured aorta. 1t was desperate chance,
but the man took it and became one of the
verv lew who have ever survived such an
operation.
Dehertoghe was born in Belgium over
ffty-five years ago. For the last twenty
two years he has lived in San francisco
and worked as a machinl He now re-
sides at 925 McAllister street. At one
time he was tmployed in the Risdon Iron
Works and subsequently for Twelve years
he was mRcninIsJ in the Cyclops WORKS.
-Four years ago he was proprietor OF the
Alta Mach ine-shops.
1t was a year and a half ago that he sus-
tanned the injury from which he is now
rapidly recovering.
He made all the metal gates Tor the Par
rott building. While at work in Steven
son-street shop finishing the gates now
used at he main Market-street entrance
to the Parrot build ng several of the
heavy metal structures piled AMI leaning
together started TO fall, and Dehertoghe,
in an ATTEMPT TO save his nineteen-year-
old son, who was working under them,
Ill he ifrht ha nd
in so doing. with uplifted left hand,
strained and partly ruptured his aorta.
For several days thereafter he felt
we're pain bout the heart, but kept at his
work. At the expiration OF three
weeks the pain spread and became so dis
tressing that he was compelled TO remain
in bed in a cramped position.
great swelling developed over the re-
gion OF the heart and extended up to and
over the lett shoulder and down the lett
arm. It was accom- panied by severe
neuralgic pains that rendered rest an I'M
possibility.
According to his own story seven physi-
clans were finally at work on him. He
was exposed to the X-ray in an attempt TO
locate his injury and repeated plasters
we're applied TO the swelling but they
brought no relief.
Three months ago DR.. Carlson under
took to perform the operation. The pa
tlent was informed that he coulH not live
three months as he was, and that he
might never get I'D from the operation
table. 1t was a thousand to one chance
that he would survive the operation.
As the wire was inserted a stream OF
blood spurteI nearly 10 The ceiling of the
operating-room at ST Luke's Hospital.
The worst part of the case was that the
patient had long been subject to delirium
caused by the pain he suffered. For the
operation he could take neither morphine
nor opium, as they induced a violent
mania; so he had 10 endure in conscious
ness the additional pain during the
twenty minutes the operation lasted.
Technically the patients trouble was an
aneuri N or saculated tumor of the arte-
rial wall. Its development to a rapture
of the aorta was only question of time
with certain and instant death ..as the re-
suit. The wire was introduced into the
dislended or abnormal sac formed in the
aorta in order partly to fill it and form
there clot that in time would contract
and be absorbed, thereby restoring the
channel 10 It's normal formation.
Almost from the hour OF the operation
the patient has improved, and when seen
last night at his home Ehad been up and
about for several weeks and was planning
soon to go into the country finally TO re-
cover his strength. He still wears adbe-