Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1901-10-24
PEMOVAL OF STITCHES

ON the fifth day. September IL. took
place the much discussed rem oval Of
stitches from tho wound in the abdominal
wall. Th" report says:
I'm The evening the dressings were cN-
alniu'd and - there wa considerable
staining from the discharges it wrs
thought best to remoVc four stitches ard
t. separate the edges of the wound. \
little slough WAS observed near tho hull, t.
covering a space nearly an inch wide. tie
thickness of the laps The Suppuration
seemed To extend down to the muscle"
The remainder of the wound looked heal.
tliy. and it va, thought thai tho infection
was du" To tn, bullet or to 4 piece of
clothing which had hcin carried into the
wound at tn" time of the shooting. Thu
wound was then dressed, and on the fol-
l"WinE daN the PATIENTS condition WAS
very much improved.
Iho finding at the autopsy, as we'll as
the developments OF the case duriuC tho
last Gays exclude all possibility of absol to
injury To the stomach 10y premature" giving
of solid food, az was alleged at tho time
when NnfaNurablc symptoms came ON at
ter ohangc to solid diet. ON th" lifth day
the President slipped hot water and ON tin.
'iNth lay h" had beef juice. the first fu d
taken by muuth since the operation. IN
the meantime nutritiVe cncmaS were con-
tiuucd, but were not well +, tanned. At $50
in the morning of the seventh day he WAS
allowed chicken broth. a very small piece
CT toast and 3" small cup of coffee. He did
not care ior the toast and ate scarcely
II f il. The wound had i'm the mean
while been doing very well ana had been
dressed daily after the removal of ,h"
STITCHES ana the Slpughiug tissue. Tho
President seemed at his bcSt. and a favor
able result was now confidently predicted.
On the seventh day towards noon tho
patient began to grow weaker and -ruw
900. o "a 4r-- - a4-r1 ..t 81 r-y- .f =
the food was discontinued while castor ii!
and I'm enema of OK Rall were given 10
move the bow els. Vt midnight thci, was
Somc Improvement in the pulse after an
/ icption of salt solution into the oub,r.
tnn,uuS Tissues. ON the eighth day ii
condition of the President was dcScribod
rs very serious as he did not respond l.
stimulation. Stimulation and injections Of
salt solution, coffee and broth were civ.
,r without much effect. At ! o'Cluck oNy-
ytn was given and continued for some
hours. At $50 the President WAS restless.
at IL y. IN. he lost consciousness ana con.
tinucd to sink until he died at 2:15 a. m. on
September II.
WHY THE X-RAYS WERE NOT Used.
In speaking Of the criticism tina Kucui.
zen rays should have been used to locate
the bull,; DR.. Mann says in his report.
I'VE were often asked why, after the on
Grafton, We did not use the N-raNS to Iul
the bullet. In the first place there were
ut no time amy signs that the bullet va.
doing harm. TO have used the N-raNs sin.-
plv 10 have satisfied our curiosity Mou!f
not have been ~warrintablc as ii WD,nu
have greatly disturbed and annoyed the
patient, ANA Would have subjected hIn
also to II certain risk. Had there been
Signs of abscess formation then the y
rays could and would have been used"
DR., GaNlord's report of the autopsy Is
lengthy and detailed. Nothing of impit.
anco WAS noticed about the wound in III,
chest caused 10y the first shot EXCEPT that
the area of skin affected was fuuuu tu nr
uisculor@d, greenish yellow and mottl,L
and that there was a hemOrrhagc into I've
fat under the skin beneath this area. rnc
abdominal wound showed no evidences Of
nccr, sis or sluughing. No Inflammation
of the peritOneum was found. Tho wound
in the front wall of the stomach was
found held intact by silk suturos. hut
the area Of stomach walls around it Was
discolorod, grayish green, and easily torn.
Tho area around the wound ON the puslc-
riur wall of the stomach was also Of Il