The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-02-13
MODERN SURGERY.
marvellous Achievements In Mcnding
Mankind.


Mankind.
The nose is such prominent feature
that 1t Is apt to suffer severely when
there is anything of 'smash-up," and
it accordingly happens that surgical
skill is very frequently called upon to
patch up broken noses, and sometimes
even to plant a nose where there is none.
One case, likely to be long known as
1.-THE blackbird case" is recorded from
the London Royal Free hospital. A serv.
ant girl was brought in with her nose
smashed by hydraulic lift coming in
contact with it. The surgeon sent out
for blackbird, took out the breast bone
and managed to insert it where the
broken cartilage had been, with conn
plete success in restoring the maid's
former appearance.
A severe task was set for the surgeons
Of another London hospital by an un-
fortunate Individual who, having by de-
fault of nature no nose at all, wanted
to be furnished with one. Willing to
oblige him, an amputated finger of an
other patient was grated on his face,
but IL was found that amputation had
caused the finger to die, and it failed
to take.
The undaunted "noseless" man then
agreed to the surgeons suggestion that
one of his own (the patient's) fingers
should be cut off to furnish the missing
nasal organ, but IN order that the finger
should not be wasted, should the opera
ton prove unsuccessful, the patients
arm WIS inclosed in plaster, and for
four weeks he had to hold his finger
to his face, In the hope OF its taking
root.
1t ultimately did, and was then cut
off from the hand, and now remains
fixed as nose, having been SO manipu-
lated that it can no longer be recog-
nized as a finger, and the process Of
shaping it is proceeding, so that ulti-
mately what is expected to be very
passable nose will be the result.
There was recently seen at the Paris
academy of medicine a young woman
to whom DIR. Berger, the eminent French
surgeon, had supplied an entire under
lip in place of the one nature had given
her, which she had accidentally lost
He had made good the loss with piece
of flesh cut from her arm, and had &C
complished the substitution with re-
markable skill. There was no appar.
ent Disagreement about the mouth, and
the lip was red and quite natural look.
ing. \
The French, when they wish colo
quially to refer to something that does
not exist, use the phrase IAN army pen.
sioner with an artificial head"-much
as we speak of the "horse Marines" or
as, on the continent, of "Swiss adj
miral." But there has now been found
something very like the first-named
phenomenon, for in village near Lille
there lives retired artilleryman named
Moreau, who was hero on the French
side of the war Of 1870.
In action he was wounded by q shell,
which exploded right in his face. lie
was cared for by the surgeons, who were
much astonished to find him still alive
at the end of four days. Nothing re-
manned uninjured of his face but the
forehead and jaw. An operation was
performed, and no fewer than IS pieces
of bone were taken out of the wounded
part. A wax mask was resorted to to
hide the hideous cavity in his face. Mo-
reau recovered and for years piled the
government with petitions to be sup
piled with platinum mask, which he at
last got some ten years ago. ItanswersS
well, only requiring to be repainted
from time to time.
DIR. Peau, another Paris doctor of emf
nence, recently showed his colleagues
OF the academy man, aged Al. from
whom so much of the throat and wind
pipe had been removed in operating on
tumors that speech was lost. An ar
tificial larynx was made and inserted.
and has restored his voice. The mechan-
ism consists of spiral silver tube COW
cred with india rubber, which causes
no discomfort, and can be inserted I'm
the throat or removed by the patient
inn sol