The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-07-30
CURING CANCER BY FREEZING.
SOME SURGICAL EXPERIMENTS
WITH LIQUID AIR.


Rery-Cases in Which ErysipeIns.
Carbuncles, Lupus, Neuralgia. Alb
scesses, sciatica and other Dis
eases Have Been swiftly Cured.
Treating and Curing Cancer-A
Visit to DIR. whites CIinic-Hov
the Liquid Air Is AppIicd-Reasons
Why Ii Cures.
Copyrighted by the S. S. Mcclure Co. 1899
New York. July 2S.-Dr. A. Campbell
White of Vanderbilt clinic. Columbia Uni
versity, is preparing to announce the re-
suits of a series of remarkable experiments
which he has been making with liquid air
Z. for the treatment of cancer erysipelas. Iu-
pus carbuncles and other diseases. He has
actually cured a number of severe cases
of erysipelas, carbuncles and bons in one
or two trea tments. Assesses and ulcers
he has aborted absolutely with a single
freezing Neuralgia and sclatica he has
treated most successfully, in every case
giving almost instant and permanent re-
| lief, An obstinate case of lupus-lupus is
form of tuberculosis affecting the skin
was perfectly cured after two treatments.
although the patient had been under ordi-
nary medical attendance for long time,
the disease resisting every remedy. But
the most significant and important feat
ure Of all DR.. Whites work mas been his
| experiments with cancer. He has had
number of very severe cases In one of
them, cancer of the nose, the sore has en-
tirely disappeared and DR.. White believes
the patient to be permanently cured. All
| the other cases show marked Improvement
although tehre has not been time for the
sores to heal entirely. DR.. White refuses
| yet, with professional conservatism, to as
sert positively that liquid air will nvaria-
bly, cure cancer, but he says: Il am hope
| full as TO the ultimate result" Besides the
| cancer cases. experiments have been made
| in using liquid air an auaesthetic with
some curious results of which | will speak
| later
1t is fortunate that these experiments.
: which promise to give liquid air the prom
inence in surgical and medical circles for
merly held by Roentgens x-rays should
have been conducted under such auspices
as those OF the medical staff of the Van>
| derbit clinic. DR. White has been
! sisted by Dr. ThursIon G. Lusk and his
associates of Roosevelt Hospital and by
| DR.. George NJ. Fox, the distinguished au-
| thority on SIX n diseases. DR.. White, him
| self is we'll known in the medical world
as one of the first of American physicians
to experiment with anti-toxine for the
| treatment of diphtheria, subject on which
he made a report before the American
! Medical Association.
DR.. White has been conducting special
| clinics twice q week for several months
past. The liquid air is supplied by Mr..
! Charles E. Tripler, the inventor of the
process, which has made his name familiar.
1t reaches the clinic in a heat insulated
| can containing about one gallon, the cost
| being hardly more than that of mineral
water. 1t is clear, blush fluid which
evaporates rapidly on exposure to the
! heat of the surrounding atmosphere. Its
| temperature is 312 degrees below zero.
Last week l visited DR.. White at his
! clinic. Among the patients present one
| had a very severe case OF cancer, one of
eEysipelas and one of blood tumors The
| erysipelas patient was a young negro
| woman who had come to the clinic three
days before with her face terribly swollen
ana disfgured. DR.. White had applied IL
| quid air, doubtful as to its efficacy, and
she had returned 50 much improved, the
swelling being entirely gone that the doc
tor actually did not know her He gave
her one final treatment, using a glass
flask partly filed with the liquid air. This
he rolled over her face up and down. The
surface of the flesh was sfrozen stiff and
white as the glass passed over IT, but 1t
regained its former condition almost in
stantly. The temperature used was near
ly 800 degrees colder than ice, perfectly
dry cold, so cold indeed, that the doctor
had difficulty in handling the flask. And
yet, when l asked the patient If 1t hurt
her she said that she only experienced a
slight singing sensation.
1T completely anaesthetizes the part to
which it is applied without freezing It
solid" explained Dr. White Il have tried
the air as a local anaesthetlc in a num-
Der of cases and 1t has always worked adj
mlrably No blood flows during the opera
tion-a very great advantage to the sur
geon in his work. I operated not long
ago on a boy who had a blank cartridge
wound in his hand. The boy was very
| nervous. l applied the liquid air rather
too freely, and when l attempted to cut
the hand with a scalpel 1t was frozen so
| hard that the knife would not penetrate.
| Thirty seconds later. however, IL thaWed
out and the operation was performed
without pain, without hemorrhage and
with no further freezing. When the boy
returned a few days later the wound was
Ia perfect condition and it was soon heal
ed up. That is only one of several similar
cases."
One of the other cases present at the
clinic was of young child with a number
Of blood tumors Previous to my visit a
large sore under the chin had been treated
by the old methods and il was still much
swollen, whereas a similar sore on the
back which had been treated twice with
liquid air was in excellent condition, the
scab free and wound beginning to heal.
No better proof of the superiority Of the
LIQUID air treatment over that formerly
used could be desired. The doctor told
me of a similar experiment on case OF
ivy poisoning extending the entire length
of the patients forearm and hand. He
froze a band about three inches wide
around the arm with spray of liquid air,
treating the rest of the arm in the usual
manner. At the next dressing the part
treated with liquid air was well marked
from the fact that it had improved so
much more rapidly than the remainder Of
the arm.
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