The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-09-13
COCAINE IN SURGERY.

The anaesthetic properties OF, cocaine,
when used as hypcdermic injection.
have been known for many years. but un.
ill recently only minor surgical opera
tions on the external parts OF the body
have been performed with It's aid. and
cocaine has been classed as merely a To-
cal anaesthetic. Its future has, however.
suddenly been opened along new and
startling lines. says a writer in Popular
Science Monthly. by the discovery that
when IL is injected into the spinal cord
II causes total loss OF sensation below
the point OF puncture. so that the most
elaborate and difficult operations may
be carried on while the patient chats
pleasantly with the surgeon and his at
tendants
This discovery like so many others In
medical science has been reaahed only by
successive stages OF experiments made by
men OF various nationalities. until finally
eliminating I'm practical results. These
experiments have been reported In medi-
cal journals from time 10 time In the last
fifteen years: but the discovery needed a
dramatic setting 10 bring IL effectively
before the medical fraternity. and this IL
obtained a the Medical Congress held IN
connection with the Paris Exposition. At
the clinics OF NJ Tuffler, o. the occasion,
with all nations for eye-witnesses one
operation after another was performed on
patients who were perfectly conscious
and yet were absolutely insensible to
pain below the nipple line. His feats were
the talk OF the congress; many of the
most famous surgeons OF the world were ,
present and saw how comparatively SIM
pie IL was. after first rendering the point
/ ~
caine, 10 cause the patient TO lean for
ward, as II scorching on "A bicycle thus
straining the vertebrae slightly apart,
when II was easy 10 insert the hypoder-
mic needle until the appea rance OF a few
drops Of the spinal fluid showed that the
| cord had been tapped, and then 10 attach
the syringe and Inject the cocaine solu-
| tion.
In some OF these operations the patients
| left the operating table with almost no
| unpleasant sensations: yet I'm the major
| ity there was dizziness. nausea and
| frightful headache. which in some cases
| lasted as long as eight days In spite OF
| every effort 10 bring relief. These dsa-
greeable after-effects, for which as yet
no remedy has been found. together with
! the fact that consciousness In the pa
! tient. even though no pain is felt, Is un-
desirable both for himself and the opera
, tor in such cases as the removal OF
! limb must prevent this new anaesthetic
| from rivaling successfully chloroforn
| and ether, except In those not infrequent
| cases when the use OF these latter would
| be dangerous on account OF a weak heart,
| tendencies 10 asthma or other complca-
| tions. But. though cocaine cannot al
| present take the place of other anaes-
| thetics. II has given hint of what may
| be developed. and. doubtless. experiments
| with IL will be continued The ideal. absQ-
| lutely safe and universally applicable
general anaesthetic is not yet discovered.
| but unquestionably new way has been
pointed out, and within few years the
results of scientific experiments may just
| ify the hope that has sprung up with this
| method of cocainizing the spinal cord.