The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-04-29
AN ADVANCE IN SURGERY.
Repairing of Several Veins Per-
formed by Russian Physician.
From the Philadelphia Euquirer)

tioiH tHc THl4dutiplid EHpu'''isJ
In the recent medical archives in the
library of St. Petersburg is an account OF
most wonderful operation performed by
Kamtsky. one of the greatest surgeons Of
his time. an operation like which no other
is recorded. Poitinkosh a rich farmer,
cattle raiser. and reindeer farmer, resid-
ing north of st. Petersburg. suffered an
injury TO the upper end of the right thigh.
caused by being violently hurled from his
sleigh. the latter having struck stump.
The farmer in falling was jagged by
snag which struck about two inches below
the fold of the flank, causing torn, bleed
ing. gaping wound of about four inches in
length, directly downward and in a line
over the femoral artery (the large artery
which supplies the entire leg with blood,
the latter vessel having been laid bare
and severely bruised in the wreck, no
large vessels having been torn.
Kamtsky. with the great wisdom of
world of experience, wisely apprehended
the possible results of this pecul ar wound,
and for the next twenty-four hours he
spent every minute of his time, valuable
as it was, working with chemical fire,
molten substances, and apparatus of divers
kinds until finally the object of his eff
forts was finished, a small hollow. e'astic,
colorless tube about five inches long the
composition of which is not recorded, con-
sequenuy not known. In twelve hours
after his task was finished careful scru-
tiny of the injured limb revealed d
slightly blush tintS scarcely noticeable,
on the end of the great toe. This was
the signal for operation to the surgeon,
and the stockman was Immediately taken
to the operating room, where, in order to
arrest oncoming grangrene, he WAS sub
jected to an odd and experimental opera
ton.
After the patient was anesthe'ized the
wound was uncovered. carefully cleaned.
and the tissue carefully pushed and dis
sected away from the. large artery, eX-
posing about three and None-half inches of
bruised vessel, ready to disintegrate. A
clamp was placed on the artery an inch
above where normal sound tissue began;
then he cut the artery at the junction Of
the bruised and sound tissue, and, care
fully drawing the myste. !ous lube from its
aseptic hiding place, he slipped the cut,
round end of the vessel into it about an
inch, being exceedingly careful while so
doing TO keep the hollow tube collapsed
and empty, so as TO avoid all danger p-o-
duced by the entrance OF air.
Repeating the same process at the lower
end of the artery. he inserted the tube into
the end of the vessel about the same dis
lance as the upper end lay in the tube.
Then gently releasing the lower clamp, he
allowed the tube TO fill with blood from
that portion OF the vessels below. Then
the final test came when he gently and
steadily removed the clamp above the tube.
thus establishing an unbroken channel
which would carry the blood 10 its normal
distribution. a slight pouchng of the tube
at first caused some fear as to whether 1t
were strong enough to stand the pressure
of the heart wave of blood as the latter
pulsated through It's new channel. This
latter defect was overcome. however. when
the tube was laid in the bed Of the bruised
exsected portion and the external support
of the muscles and tissues gave il sufficient
strength to overcome the pressure Of the
blood stream The wound was carefully
closed. the parts set at rest. and results
awaited. In thirtysix hours the blue tint
had disappeared from the toe and the color
of the skin OF the leg changed from pale
ashy to a pink.
Two months afterward the patient was
attending his everyday duties as formerly,
suffering no inconvenience whatever from
his wound. Five years afterward the pa
tient died OF acute pneumonia, and a post
mortem examination of the seat of the
wound revealed a strong firm plastic com
position tube, Immediately in the stu
of the composition tube the latter having
been absorbed by the blood. not. however,
before the Iymphatics had so encysted it,
just as a bullet becomes encysted in the
body after months of time, to the extent
that when the tube was eaten away by the
blood this fbrOus coat answered the Origi-
nal plau of circulation