Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1897-01-22
. NJ GRATING EXTRAORDINARY
= 90 Button Provcs an Enicient Aid La
Modern Surgery.

T" Snf<F ttt>NA IN HAOROtNAHY
a ;oss Button Provcs an EnBcient Aid LA
Modern Surgery.
The unusual manner in which piece
Of skin was cut from a boys thigh and
grated IN his eye TO enable him to wear
an artificial eye to replace one de-
bsToyed by accident has been brought
20 the attention of the PHYSICIANS Of the
New York Academy of Medicine. The
patient is Richard Won Romcr. OF Jer.
sey City, foundry land and very
Lealthy specimen of uovhoOd. Some
weeks ago while he WAS pouring some
molten metal in = mold it splashcd and
drop OF il struck the boy ia the right
eye. 1t burned away part of the upper
I'd almost instantly ard sank into the
pupil. destroying the SIGHT Dr. Il. T.
Chambers, of Jersey City, was called.
and, applying cocaine 10 reduce the
pain. he examined the eye. He found
tiny speck of the hardened metal i'm the
ball of the eye. and decided that the. en-
tire organ would have TO be removed
When this was done and the injured
surrounding tissue as cut away the
surgeon G.scovercd that there wasn't
Enough of the eye socket left 10 hold in
place even the smallest sized artificial
eve.
DIR. Chambers resolved 70 try deli
rate feat of Thicrsch grating 20 rem
eSly the defect. Previous successful
experiments at skin grating had been
made when the skin was grated on
nat surface. The difficulty in this cas-.
lay in making the flesh grow into "A
cavity like the eye socket. and as too
much pressure destroys all chance %
the grated flesh growing upon the sur
lace to which il is applied. the under
taking was particularly hazardous.
Three weeks ago the surgeon went
about his task after an unusual meta
cd. The injured eye socket was en-
tirely healed by this time. The night
before the operation he prepared
section. measuring two by four inches.
of the flesh of the thigh and syathed
il in antisertio bandages over night.
The next day he put the lad under the
influence of ether. The eye socket was
sprayed with cocaine, an incsiou was
made in the tissue, the section Of flesh
was cut away from the thigh and
transplanted TO the upper part Of the
eye socket and fitted in the fresh in
cision.
Before this was done. however. the
surgeon had TO devise a means Of hold
ing the graft IN place without too great
pressure. He hit upon the ,ocdient Of
using an ordinary flat-surraccd over
coat button about an inch i'm diameter.
This was covered with nntiscptic
Rauze and fitted in the cavity. The
graft of skin was stretched over IL, and
the button and the skin graft were
bound firmly in the eye socl D.. and al
lowed to remain n week undisturbcd.
The button had four holes IN il, which
permitted the free circulation of the
fluids OF the eye while the grating
process was in progress. At the end of
The week Che bandage was removed.
and IL was discovered that the trans
planted flesh had grown Won the eve.
making n new and healthy upper hd
that would hold an artificial eve in
place.
The secret Of the success Of the opcr-
rtion, DR.. Chambers said, was the pres
ence OF the holes i'm the button
The boy was al recent meeting OF
the Academy of Medicine. and showc.'
the assembled physicians that the ev.
could be removed and replaced wit
ease. He had practically a row cy
socket. All pain had disappeared. anu
all danger of the sound eye being az
fected through sympathy Two ply
sicians reported that they had trict
skin grating for somewhat simila
injuries, but had failed because the,
had not used the button. or "a sinila
device. They declared thcy would tr-
the experiment over again with the
button, and report the result to the
academy.-N. Y. Sun.