Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-10-19
SURGEONS THREAD.
MATERIALS That ARE USED TO S~H
UP CUTS AND WOUNDS.


plans 10 have tAc still, hes lac 80 careful
b Scws give wa. al certain time.
SSppuse lee should Use tne kind Of
tL.,ad Ia coat warranted 10 break la
uac week. another kind Ia the trousers
gUaranI,,S to fail apart in Il month
ana using permanent material only IN
uiaRiLg up Il waistcoat. Yet this Is eX-
actly what the surgeon does every day.
Suturcs. as the surgeons thread Is call
eel. are made from various materials,
according TO the requirements. Catgut
sils thread. silkwOrm gut. silver wire,
/ Kangaroo tcudOns aud horsehair are In
common use.
Catgut was at one time obtained
/ from members of the feline tribe. As
/ its use increased the supply ran short
| Experiments showed that sheep fur
nishcd an acceptable substitute. So
catgut used 10y surgeons, jewelers. aud
makers of musical instruments comes
now from the submucOsa, or middle
layer of the intestine of a sheep. Ii Is
| the most commonly used of all sutur-
/
sorbpd in from five To seven days, de-
! pending on the individual upon whom
] they are used. In occasional instances
ca gut stitches have been known to be
! absorbed In 30 hours. by treating II
with chronic acid such a suture will
remain In position for many weeks.
Because of its adaptability and the
cheapncss of the material catgut heads
the list of surgical threads.
SilkwOrm gut can be more thorough
ly sterilizcd than any other known
suture material In preparing sutures
Of all sorts the usual method Is To boil
the material in ether, allow 1t to soak
for "A hours, then place 1t in alcohol
for day or two and follow this with
bath of mercury solution. NOtwith-
standing this thorough cleansing. the
microscope reveals germs still present
in varying numbers III many instances.
SilkwOrm sutures show fewer micro
organisms than other materials treated
In this way; hence IL Is highly recon-
mcnded for surgical work. The mate
rial is extracted from a silkworm killed
Immediately before 1t begins to weave
Its cocoon. Unfortunately for sur
geons, silkworm Sutures are not alb
sorbed, but remain permanently in
place. For this reason its use is re-
stricted to special work.
The short. tough tendons taken from
the tail of a kangaroo furnish surgeons
with valuable thread. Kangaroo ten
don stitches will hold fast for many
days. The time of absorption is esti-
mated from four weeks to two months.
Horsehair and silver wire suturcs are
nonabsorbable. The fluids of the body
do not affect them in any way, and
once in place the stitches will remain
until forcibly removed. by some ii is
asserted that silver wire has distinct
antiseptic properties. Nitrate of silver
in solution is known to be a good ger
micide. Hence it is argued that a sill
YER salt injurious to germ development
Is formed by the contact of body fluids
with silver wire. Thus stitch assesses
are said to be of rare occurrence when
silver wire is utilized.
Silk thread, such as is used by tai.
lors, but of the finest quality and OF
larger caliber. is frequently used. The
stitches are practically nonabsorbable
though at times no trace of the thread
L has been found in the tissue at the eX
piration of a year.
To accommodate this assortment OF
e threads special varieties of needles are
naturally required. 4 surgeons "house
Y Wife contains needles that would
scarcely be recognized as such by the
r. unintiated Besides the needles curry
d ed In different segments of a circle
l. surgeons use needles shaped like
e spears. javelins and bayonet points
Some are as long as bodkins. terminal
ing in a point like a miniature knit,
blade. Others have the sharpened enl
p triangular, with the apices of the an
ID giles sharpened to razor edge. Som,
ID few are formed like ordinary SEWN,
" needles, but made of greater tensil,
id strength.
d Instead Of thimble surgeon uses
an instrument called needle holder
1t Is shaped like pair of scissors. tn,
points of which are blunt clamps. TIT
needle Is held fast between the jaw
of the clamps until released by openin.
the two blades as scissors are opened
A. Then fresh hold is taken. and the &C
ton repeated with every stitch
A skillful surgeon has perfect com
" mand of the needle at all times. Their
le are moments during an operation whel
well placed stitch means saving tn
in life Of patient At such times tn
d. skillful surgeon displays a celebrity ant
deftness not surpassed in embroidery.
The surgeon relies upon certain
stitches for different needs. just as tn
st dressmaker picks and chooses amon
oil the various forms Of stitching. TIL
at hemsttch. catstitch. whalebone hel
d. ringbone, running stitch and back ham
hit so dear to the feminine fingers hav
A. their counterparts in the surgeon
X mattress suture, interrupted and cor
OF tinuOus suture, subcuticular suturt
G. purse string and figure eight sutures
Lembert and Czerney sutures. AS tn
seamstress selects an appropriat
stitch for a seam. a buttonhole or a
at edging, so the surgeon chooses in form
s. ing his life saving stitches.-New Yor
at Sun.
IN Her Way.
he SIS Georgiana a sympathetic friend?
IN "Wpll when she praiSpS ANYTHING