The Anaconda standard., 1899-08-27

the body of one person to that of an
other is a delicate and painful opera
ton, which calls for fully as much de-
votion on the part of the subject to-
ward the patient as does the trans
fusion operation. Usually, however. in
skn-grafting operations so much cuticle
is required that one person could not
afford to yield all of it, and several are
called upon to submit to the surgeons
knife. A few days ago newspaper dis
patches from Lincoln. ILL.,, told of an
operation of this character in that city
in which the daughter of ex-Mayor
Rock gave up portion of the cutcle
from her arm to assist in restoring her
father to health.
Some time ago Mr.. Rock became i'm
pressed with the idea that needle was
imhedded in the flesh of his foot and
submitted to an N-ray opera ton to dis
cover the troublesome piece of steel.
The needle was not found, but the in
iured foot failed to heal and it is
thought it was burned by the X-ray
machine. Constant care and attention
from surgeons failed to bring about the
cure of the injuries and finally the oper-
alton of skin grating was decided upon
to cover the injured portions of the foot.
Mr.. Rocks daughter Rosa at once Of
fered herself to the surgeons as sub
iect for the delicate operation, and sew
eral square inches of cuticle was re-
moved from her arm and transferred
to the wounded foot. The operation
has so far been a success, as the live
skin adhered to the wound and will
probably grow into place in time.
Thousands of members of the Mason
c order in Chicago recall the skin
grating operation performed here some
years ago in which more than a score
of Knights Templar gave up portions
of their cuticle to aid an injured broth
a member of st. Bernard commandery,
was the patient and when the surgeons
announced that volunteers We're wanted
for the skin grating operation designed
to save his life more than $50 Masons
offered themselves. OF course not all
were called upon for the brotherly sac
rifice, but enough skin was removed
| from the arms and shoulders Of those
| selected to cover the wounds of the
| dying man. Unfortunately, the opera
| tion was not success. as Dickerson
died soon afterward, the skin falling to
| adhere to his body.
A similar instance occurred in Iowa
| some years ago, in which the Masons
were also concerned. a score of them
| freely submitting their arms to the sur
| geon's knife in aid of a dying brother
| The bonds which held them in their
fraternal order made them indeed
| brothers in this supreme test and there
| was no lack of volunteers in either
case when the operation was decided
| upon.
| Medical annals record hundreds of
| similar cases where the transfer of liv
ing skin was required and as the oper-
| alton is exceedingly painful and anaes-
| thetics are seldom, if ever, admins
tered to the subjects it requires con-
| siderable nerve as well as a close bond
| of friendship and effection to enable
a man to bare his arm and allow the
| surgeon to slice off a square of his skin.
Skin grating is much more common
than the operation of TRANSMISSION of
| blood, but in each instance the subjects
exhibit a high quality of Christian fra
ternity and sterling friendship.-Chi-
| Cago Chronicle.