The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-26
REMOVED THE STOMACH.
REMARKABLE SURGICAL OPERA
TION IN ST. LOUIS.

DR.. Bernays Performed "A Complete
ExcisiOn of the stomach of Conrad
Beck, Who Suffered From Cancer.
Beck Recovered From the Opera
ton, But Was Too DebiIitated to
Live.
From the New York Sun.
st. Louis, Jan. 4.-What was regarded
the age was performed at the Rebekah
Hospital last Wednesday morning, and the
fact that 1t gave promise of complete sue
cess was responsible for the disclosure Of
the details this afternoon. It was the ex-
cision of the entire stomach of Conrad
Beck, machLnist, 46 years old, of 1914 Ore
gon avenue.
In several ways the operation was more
arduous and complicated than the similar
and successful undertaking at Zurich,
Switzerland, on Sept. g. 1897, of DR.. Carl
Schlatter who removed the whole stom-
ach of Anna Lands, a working woman, 65
years old, an account of which operation
was published in the Sun about ten days
ago. Each operation was impelled by a can
cerous growth that menaced the patients
life.
Beck was the first man in the world to
submit TO such an undertaking. Dr. A.
c. Bernays, who performed the operation,
Is one Of the most eminent surgeons in the
West He was assisted by Drs. Robert e.
Wilson, Frank M. Floyd and Spencer
Graves. DR.. Bernays to-day gave out
carefully prepared statement of the case
as follows:
1.-THE patient was sent me for operation
by DIR. Summa, who had diagnosed the
case as an incurable cancer of the stom-
ach By severe hemorrhages and pain, and
by inadequate digestion, all caused by the
cancerOus tumors, the patient was much
reduced In strength and had lost about q
pounds in weight. DR. Summa thought that
as the tumor had not given rise to obstruc-
ton, removal of the growth could be at
tempted 1t was thought that only por-
ton of the stomach was involved.
"On Wednesday morning / opened the
abdomen in the usual way and upon ex-
animation of the stomach it was found
that the major curvature was not involved
at all, that the disease was located above
the minor curvature, and that IL extended
the whole length from the esophagus to
within an inch of the pylerus. This latter
outlet of the stomach was entirely free
from disease 1t was found that all The
organs excepting this small portion Of
about one inch would have to be removed
In order to give the patient chance to
get we'll This operation was done, end
the lower end OF the esophagus was united
to the pylorc end or outlet of the stom-
ach.
Il have three or four times in past years
operated on cases IN which the removal Of
the entire stomach might have resulted in
a cure, but never have had the knowledge
necessary to warrant me in the operation
and have also lacked in courage. The re-
cent successful operation by DR.. Schlatter
in Zurich gave US some encouragement,
and furnished a precedent, but the opera
ton in my opinion, based upon the expe-
rience Of Wednesday morning, will never
become a common one II Is exceedingly
difficult Of performance and requires great
resourcefulness and endurance on the part
of the surgeon and his assistants.
"The operation lasted two hours and six
minutes. 1t was somewhat different from
Schlatters. The patient Is doing fairly
well: in fact. the danger of shock and
hemorrhage is now over, and II ne does
not get well 1t will be from the impossi-
bility of properly nourishing him"
The difference between the st. Louis oD-
Grafton ana Or. Schlatter's is in the fact
that the Swiss physician removed the
pyioris and effected suture between the
upper end Of the jejunam and the lower
extremity Of the esophagus. Or. Floyd