El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-26
MODERN SURGERY
The Greatest Of All Modern
Blessings.
WONDERFUL RESULTS

WONDERFUL RESULTS
Attained by Noted Surgeons During
the Past Fifty Years.
From a Chicago dispatch dated Sat,
urday DIR. James Monroe Mcdonald
addressed a large gathering upon the
use and abuse of surgical operations, bis
subject being the "Horrors of Modern
Surgery" DR.. Mcdonald in his dis
course laid special stress on the
assertion that the ''loss of
organs which are necessary in the r
NAL organism is but a criminal and
murderous empiriciem-"
He further adds that abdominal
surgery is the most cruel and MUIR
derous fad that has ever cursed the
world. In the last decade the sur
geon's knife has slain more than was
and holocauts.
How near DIR. Mcdonald has com to
stating the truth is not exactly known,
but he has failed to back up any OF his
assertions by late statistics, showing
the mortality in caees where 1t has
been necessary to resort to a surgical
operations.
DR.. Mcdonald first contends thet the
loss of organs is a criminal and MUIR
derous ~empiricism, and takes for grant
ed that geo as q rule make a pa
tient undergo an operation simply
for amusement A surgeon with any
reputation at all can't afford to be any
thing but conservative n If he were
to resort to the knife when the nature
of the case did not justify 1t, he
would sooner or later be found out IT
H. xo,eiekod in tho nrantioa- In the
fret place a patient rarely ever visits q
surgeon unless a symptom has really
developed, aud If the symptom is very
slight, the cause can probably be re-
moved successfully, or a simple portion
of the organ affected, which would
Illustrate any disease and lengthen a
PERSONS life by a good many years:
The mortality in surgery cases has
decreased enormously during b past
thirty and during the last CEN
fury statistics show that hnman life
has been enlightened from 2 to 5 years.
Medicine has been able to no little In
most cases, especially in acute diseases
like pneumonia where the disease gen.
orally ruus its course, and by far the
greatest increase in leDgthening life 1s
due to modern surgery.
DR.. Mcdowell, a famous surgeon llV-
ing in the early part of this century,
and who was very successful in alb
dominal surgery, removed a great
many avarian tumOrs and saved seven
out of thirteen cases, which was q low
rate of mortality at that time. He was
the fret to attempt this operation. In
these days of modern surgery ten out
OF the thirteen could easily be saved,
and if not serious. all these cases are
Invariably fatal without operation.
Removing cancer of the breast some
years ago was considered . painful
and difficult operation, and the per-
centage of recovery Was 8 per
cent and under modern surgery
Fifty per cent of the number operas-
ed on, including advanced cases entire
ly recover
The mortality in compound fractures
fifty years ago were enormous, and the
method in vogue at that time was to
cut the leg off and in many cases blood
poisoipg developed. Today the leg Is
only anmputated when 1t is the worst
kind Of Q fracture, and has beer badly
There were recently reported at the
New York surgical society ifty-6ve
cases of compound fracture: fOrty-fve
recovered with perfect use of the in
jured limb, and seven died from the
shock of other injuries, and three re-
covered with fairly good use of the
limbs. Not q single case died IS q re-
suit of the compound fracture abuse.
Fifty years ago the mortality was
25 per cent from a compound fracture
without their injuries.
It Is just as sensible to in weigh
against modern Improvement, and it
ia just as absurd to present a long ar
ray of statistics to prove the superiori-
ty of modern surgery over the
n ethods practiced fifty years ago as to
attempt to demonstrate the superiority
of the railroad train over the stage
COACH. Only, everybody can see and
appreciate the latter comparison while
few persons not technically educated
care to watch and follow up the details
and results of q surgical operation.
THE fact, however, does not rffect the
truth of the statement, as those who
care to cau easily verify it.
1t can only be due to public tgnor-
Ance of modern surgery that any cred
euce is given to statement made by
DIR. James Monroe Mcdonald, whose
name does not even appear in the last
edition of the official directory of the
reputable physicians and surgeons in
the United States. He has
drawn attention to himself and per-
haps succeeded in destroying conf
dence of the ignorant In the effective
ness of the greatest of all modern bless
~ings,aseptic surgery-in this way caus-
ing suffering aud sacrificing human lives
to satisfy his own selfish ends.