The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-08-12
THE NEW SURGERY.
Marvellous Rcsuits In the Saving oi
Human Life.

MorVcIouo Ncoutto IN tnc saving 0t
Human Life.
1t was jeffrey who said that .'medi.
cine had been defined to be the art or
science Of amusing a sick man with
frivolous speculations about his disor.
der and Of tampering ingeniously till
nature either kills or cures him." He
might In his time have pronounced sur.
gerry to be the profession Of licensed
mayhem. But medicine and surgery
have made great strides not only since
that day, but since the time when thou.
sands died Inder the lancet in the hos.
pitfalls of our civil war or came home
mere fractions OF their former selves.
Some statistics brought forward at the
annual meeting Of the Massachusetts
Medical Society are eloquent us proof
of the triumph Of the new surgery over
the old. The comparisons were drawn
ffoin the operations made In the Boston
city hospital between the years 1S64-69
and those of 1SS9-94. During the for
mer period there were treated l20
cases of compound fractures. or these
W per cent. came to amputation. In
the case of compound fractures Of the
upper extremity Al per cent. died; Of
the lower extremity, 90 per cent. were
fatal. This terrible record of mortal.
ity occurred too In new and we'll
equipped hospital. an institution which
would compare favorably with any of
that time.
In the later period the beds had in
creased from 25O to 800. but In spite
OF that fact the number Of amputations
had fallen TO eighty-two, and of these
the mortality was exactly one third of
what 1t had been. In amputations at
the thigh the mortality was reduced
from 5G per cent. to 121a per cent,
while those of the leg from 81 to 1Sh:
or the arm from 3S to 1914 per cent. In
short. the mortality from compound
fractures was two-thirds less than un-
der the old methods. The physicians
attribute this saving Of life to asepsis.
The new surgery permitted the sur
geons to wait much longer than for
merly before operating They could
now wait until the aseptic regime to |
see If the compound fracture did not
heal itself, which 1t frequently did, and |
In the majority OF cases amputation |
wgs unnecessary.
Under the new surgery healing Is |
painless. The only pain now felt is that |
of the lncisions. After that has sub
sided there is no pain in ascptic heal.
Ing. The old and lingering fevers
which so often followed surgical opcr-
atoms have vanished. for with perfect |
asepsis there Is no surgical fever. The |
danger of suppurntion and secondary
hemorrhage has also gone, from the
same cause.
AS to visceral surgery, its triumphs |
have been marvellous. Surgeons now |
open the visceral cavity and perform
the most astonishing feats. Operations
which to-day are performed with i'm |
punity by young surgeons would have |
been deemed as preliminary to nethlng
short of coldblooded murder by the
last generation. Scarcely part of the |
body of living man Is uncxplored by |
science, and feats Of trephining almost |
Incredible are performed daily In our
hospitals. OF course with this rapid |
advance OF surgery has come tendcn-
cy to overopcrate, and conservative |
surgeons will agree that reckless sur
gerry has gained some hcadway in late
years. This is confined TO the younger
and ultra-enthusinstic members OF tho
profession and is deprecated by their
elder brethren.-Chicago Chronicle.