Evening star., 1901-09-11

OF the bowels following the first admins
tratfon of beef juice by the mouth las
night.
THE results have been excellent" hs
replied. "and this morning We have In
creased the quantity of beef Juice fed BY
the mouth.
The bowels have moved, showing tina
the natural digestive processes are operat
ing. and that the wounds In the side ol
the stomach are not interfering with the
proper assimilation of food going into it"
Drs. McBurney and Mann emerged from
the house together at 100S. DR.. McBur
ney indicated not the slightest anxiety, ant
he expressed surprise when informed thai
alarmist stories had followed the issuance
of last nights bulletin. II think the bulle
tin was perfectly frank" said he to an AS
ISOLATED Press representative. I'VE al
united In the assurance that no complica
tions could follow.
Character of the Irritation.
DR.. McBurney then explained the char
acter of the irritation which had made the
reopening of the incision necessary. II
was caused" said he, Just as We stated
by the fact that a piece of the Presidents
coat was carried into the body by the bull
let-not fer. not over an inch The bullet
then slipped on through the fat. The frag-
ment of the coat was. of course, removed
when the operation was performed, but
every surgeon understands that even
though every foreign particle is removed,
tissues exposed TO contamination are apt
TO show irritation. That was so in THIS
case. When the stitches were taken out
the wound opened of itself.
Was any foreign substance found with
IMP
Not a particle" he answered emphati-
cally. THE wound was not again sewed
up he added, lit will close and heal by
granulation.'
rs the opening of wounds after such an
operation unusual?' he asked
Not in gunshot wounds where foreign
substances can be carried into the body,
he replied. Wherever contamination is
possible that is liable to occur. OF course,
in cases of simple operations, where clean
instrum ents are used. nothing OF the sort
should happen When this irritation occurs
pus or serum is sometimes found when the
wound Is opened"
WAS any pus found in this case?"
NO, not a suggestion of pus. There was
a thin fluid exuded as result of the In
fiammation. was to be expected
DR.. McBurney said he had not decided
just when he would return home, II re. re.
main over tomorrow night he said. 1T
will be solely because of my intense inter
est in the case"
When asked as to when the President
could be moved. he said that no question
as to that had arisen.
IF it were necessary" said he. "he could
be moved today. He could be placed In an
ambulance. taken to the train. placed on
lounge IN a SpeClal car anu TAKEN u
Washington. That Is, so far as his condi-
tion Isl concerned. But there Is no reason
why he should not enjoy every comfort and
take his time about it. 1t will not hurt him
to remain few weeks in Buffalo,"
DIR. NcBurney said that the interior
wounds had healed. That. he said. was
proved by the manner in which the PSesi-
dent had digested the beef juice given tc
him last night. He said the President mad
relished the nourishment given him and
that tomorrow he would be given white
of egg and perhaps something else.
DR.. Mann. who performed the original
opera ton last Friday, and who did the
dressing of the wound last night. con.
Cured in the expression of confidence
which the other doctors had given.
Object of the Opesation.
What was done last night" said DR.
Mann, was merely the usual dressing OF
the incision of the abdomen requisite tc
keep it in proper condition. The incision
is about five inches in length, just above
the navel. horizontal, and in line with the
body. There is no cross incision. The
cut was laid open carefully and some anti
septic gauze inserted. The results Were
entirely satisfactory and the President {
condition this morning shows the benefit
of what was done. He is cheerful and con-
fident.
I'm fact, he is doing so well that / would
not be surprised If we let him have a cigar
before long. AS to just when he can be
moved, that Is not being considered. for
the reason that he Is much better off here
than he would be in Washington. There
the weather Is tntolerable in September
but here it Is cool and bracing which will
count much In the stages of convalescence.
One of the most depressing heat periods
ever experienced was in Washington In
September, so that all things considered
think that 1t Will lend much to the Pres
ident's recovery to remain where he Is at
least until October"
Relation to Other Wounds.
DIR. Mann was asked as to the relation
Of the outer incision to the inner wounds
OF the stomach.
'.They are quite separate" said he .'The
wounds of the stomach are those made by
the bullet, while the outer incision was
that required by the surgical operation i'm
nediately after the shooting. As to the
wounds of the stomach, they were closed
during the operation and now sufficient
time has elapsed to permit the SutureS to
heal by natural process.
That this is progressing nicely is evil
dent from the restoration of the normal d.
gestive processes. Until last night we had
not permitted food to enter the stomach by
way of the mouth. But the administration
OF beef juice has proved satisfactory
that We have doubled the amount and will
add the white OF eggs. He is receiving as
much as three and four teaspoonfuls of
beef juice an hour and this will be gradu-
ally increased"
DR.. Mann was asked IL the treatment OF
the wounds would in any way affect the
course to be pursued as to extracting the
bullet.
Not at ALL he replied. There Is nc
need OF extracting the bullet. have known
man who carried bullet in the muscles
OF his heart. In this case the bullet is en-
cysted by this time and ii is not a feature
OF the case TO give further concern"
CHART OF THE PATIENT,