Evening star., 1901-09-07
Army and Navy Officers Express
Hopefulness.
POINTS IN THE PRESIDENTS FAVOR
Surgeon General Van Reypen OPP
-.-. timistic.
THE THING TO BE FEARED

Naturally the officials Of the Navy De-
partment turned to Surgeon General Van
Reypen for an expression OF opinion as to
the Presidents condition. The surgeon
general was, on the WHOLE optimistic. He
declared positively that the fact that the
President had escaped primary hoTnorrhage
and had rallied from the first terrific shock
was greatly in his favor. The operation,
which is not unusual in wartime surgery in
these later days, is not regarded as extra
hazardous when conducted, as this was,
in the quiet Of hospital and with all mod
ern appliances. Now the point to be feared
was blood poison. and that depended entire
ly upon whether the operators had succeed
ed In removing all foreign matter, such as
bits of cloth, grease from the bullet, and
even dust, that might have been carried
into the wound. The means of sterilizing
such tracts were now ample. and there was
reason to believe that any precaution
had been omitted.
Location of the Bullet.
The bullet itself not having been reached
as yet was Of course a danger, for 1t may
not have been perfectly clean. The physi-
clans might resort to the X-rays at the
earliest possible moment to locate this bull
let, and If there was the slightest signs Of
inflammation through its presence in the
body 1t will be removed. 1t was probably
embedded in the muscles Of the back a To-
cation very favorable to healthy encysting
in which case 1t would not be disturbed at
present. But If 1t gave trouble 1t could be
reached with the aid of the X-ravs even if
1t lay beneath the ribs at the back In re-
cent operations in the navy, followed by
complete recovery, sections of the ribs two
inches long had been removed and danger
Gus matter removed from the cavity of the
CheSt. section cI1t orrf
was soon naturally supplied by cartilagin-
Gus growth, which protected the internal
organs and gave no trouble to the subject
Question of NourIshment.
1t would be impossible to administer
Eourishment to the President In the usual
manner for some days, and resort must be
had to artificial means. The presence of
food in the stomach could not be permitted
until the wounds made by the bullet and
the cut made in the operation had healed.
This might be expected to occur in about
a weeks time. Meanwhile the President
had an abundance of flesh to sustain him
until he could partake of food in the ordi-
nary manner, even without artificial sup
plies.
1t was probable that the high pulse this
morning might be attributed to the fact
that the patient had not completely
emerged from the effects Of the ether ad-
ministered to him before the operation.
Army Officers Also Hopeful.
The officers of the surgeon generals de-
partment Of the army also entertain A
hopeful feeling from the reports that have
reached them through the White House
fiom Buffalo. Their greatest fear when
the news of the sad affair reached them,
was blood poisoning, but the report that
the wound in the abdomen had been closed
up by the attending physicians allayed this
apprehension to a great extent, as 1t was
evident that. not until It had been estab-
ltshed that none of the contents of the
stomach had escaped would this step have
been taken. This reduced the danger of
septic poisoningsro the very minimum one
: that might arise from the bullet itself.
From the reports that reach here the army
medical officers are inclined to the opinion
that the ball is imbedded in the muscles
OF the back, and capable of doing no ma
-teriai damage. 1t is felt that an applica-
tion of the "X-rays," when this can be ac-
ccmplished, viii Immediately disclose its
location.
The Rise In Temperature.
AS to the fluctuations of pulse, and the
rise in temperature the officers state that
these are the natural results, which invari-
ably follow shock, and which do not OBJ
tain until hours after the happening itself.
The fear entertained in this regard is that,
should the temperature grow higher and
continue SO, the heart will wear itself out
Dy tne aDnOrmdiy nlSn pressure upon IT.
However, as stated above, the officials of
the medical branch of the army are most
hopeful, and state that If everything goes
well and normal conditions return again
the wound itself would probably be healed
within month.
Good Ground for Hope.
In response to a request for an opinion
as to the probable result of the Presidents
wounds Surgeon General Wyman of the
marine hospital service said:
The fact that the President was in such
good health; that skilled surgical assist
ance was Immediately available; that the
necessary operation was not postponed:
coveries in similar cases is large, all give
good ground for anticipating a favorable
result. 1t is not unlikely there will be
some rise of temperature which follows
wounds of this description, due either to a
general disturbance following the wound
and operation or possibly due to some
localized peritonitis. The fact that the
wound was received as late as 4:1O pm.
probably some hours after lunch and be-
fore dinner, the stomach being compara-
lively empty, is in his favor. 1t Is difficult
to find statistics based upon a large num-
Der of cases with wounds of this character
but in a general way 1t may be said that
recoveries average about so per cent With
man like President Mckinley it Is safe
To say that the percentage of chances in
MS favor Is much greater than this. Cases
with numerous perforationS of the stomach
ana tntestines, even accompanied by wounds
OF the liver and kidneys, have recovered,
as many as ten or more perforations of the
lntestlnes with recovery being by no means
a great rarity"