Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1901-10-23
SURGERY AND M'K|NLEY
Every Resource Of Science Drawn
Upon to Save The Late President.
THE REPORT OF THE PHYSICIANS
Inc Patient Seemed to Re Hrcover;nr
and His Change For the Worse Wa.
Totally UneNpectcd-GanErcn Con.
''itions Attributed TO Lowered yIt.lit,
SOLID Diet Not Fatally Injurious.

T"'alir UneNpected-Gangrcno Con.
'titions Attributed TO Lowered yIto,it,
solid Dict Not Fatally Ininrious
New York City. - The New York
Medical journal contains the full Off
ciai report of the surgeons who at.
'ehhed the late President William
Mckinley i'll Buffalo. The report
contains upward of $4,000 words. and
constitutes the official record OF tho
iS". 1T is signed by Drs. T. NJ.
NiXey. Matthew T.. Mann. Herman
Myhter. Roswell Park, Eugene Was.
nih. Charles McBurney and Charles
". Stockton. members of the medical
stan attending the late President
fhc report Describes the oDcrotion
III all its technical minutiae. The nj
hi"S' care was used to prevent infec-
"ioh oi the abdominal cavity and of
tue wound by the most approved mod
erii methods Of surgical cleanliness
ihe wounds in the stomach were su
tur'd with silk. using double rows OF
STITCHES. The application OF these
STITCHES was accompanied by great
difficulties.
Ih" chief trouble was the depth of
""''iiFdl 'dNitN. tne lack OF in
struments to draw the edges of the
wound apart and the lack OF GOOD
hEhi. or the search for the bullet
the report says:
Ihc operation on the stomach now
ncing finished. DR.. Mann introduced
ms arm so rs 10 palpate carefully all
the deep structures behind the stom-
hch. No trace of the bullet. or of the
nrIhtr track of the bullet. could he
round Further search might have
caused the death of the patient upon
the operating table
''h he fifth day. September 10. took
liacc the much-diScussed removal OF
S'''heS from the wound in the ah-
uouihal wall. The report states: I'm
IN" evening tho DRESSINGS were exam
incd. and. rs there was consideroblr
sIainirS from the discharges. il was
thought hest 10 remove four stitches
ana % s2paratc the edges OF the
wound A litle slough WAS observed
hear 'te hulle. track, covering n snacc
noarty IN inch wide. the thickness of
'h" ua'S. The SuDpuration seemed 10
extend down 10 the muscle. The re-
maiudvr' ~ the wound looked hcoltbv.
hnd II was thought that the infection
was dl" 30 the bullet or to n piece OF
cloilinr which had been carried into
the woiud"
On :Ec fifth dav The President sippcd
hon water; on the sixth he had beer
juice. 'he first food taken by mouth
sine" the operation. In the meantime
hutrluve encmaS We're continued hut
were not well retained At $50 i'm
IN" moYning Of the seventh day he
WAS allowed chicken broth. very
small piece OF toast and small cup
oi coffee. He did not care for the
boast. and ate scarcely any of IT,
lhe wound had In the meanwhile
h""n dong very well. and had been
dressed daily after the removal of the
stitches and the sloughing tissue. The
PRESIDENT seemed 1T his best and Il
favorable result was now confidently
predicted. There was no sign of blood
poisoning or OF inflammation of the
vertoneum.
On the seventh day. toward noon.
the pulse began to grow weaker. and
grew rapidly worse. Stimulants We're
given and the food was discontinued.
while castor oil and an enema of OK
Eall were given to move the bowels
AZ midnight there was some improve
ment i'll the pulse, after an injection
of salt solution into the subcutaneous
tissues.
On the eighth day the condition OF
The President was described as very
serious. as he did not respond to slim
ulation. Stimulants and injections OF
salt solution. coffee. and broth were
given. but without much effect. Ats
o'clock oxygen was given and contin-
ued for some hours. AT 6.30 the Presi-
dent was restless. at 10 p. III. lie lost
consciousness and continued to sink
until he died at 90 n. m, on Septem-
her Il.
DR. Gayiprd's report of the autopsy
Is lengthy and detailed. Nothing OF
Importance was noticed about the
wound on the chest caused by the first
shot. except that the area of skin af-
fected was found to be discolOred.
grecnish yellow and mottled. and that
there was hemorrhage into the fat
uudcr the skin beneath this area The
abdominal wound showed no evidence
of necrosis or sloughing. No inHam-
nation of the peritoneum was found
The gangrenous cavity found behind
the stomach involved the pancreas
and the surrounding loose tissues. the
hottom of tine blind pocket being
formed by the upper end Of the lef,
kidney. which was found to be lacer-
atcd at that point to the extent OF
about two centimetreS.
Examination of the heart muscle
showed that it was affected with well
marked fatty degeneration. and in
some places the muscle tihrcS showed
groups OF dark brown GranuleS, dem
onstrating Il diseased condition of the
cardiac muscle.
Dr. Gaylord believes that the reraic
To the stomach wounds had been cf-
fcctive and that the ganSrcnc around
these wounds does not seem to have
been the result OF any we'll defined
cause. He attributes the gangrenous
condition of the tissues solely TO low
cred vitality in the parts. The aS-
pcarance of the gangrenous tissues
shows that the gangrene took place
shortly before death.