The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1901-09-13

NATURE OF THE WOUND.

Dr.. Edward Wallace Lee, of st. Louis,
who assisted at the operation on Presi-
dent Mckinley in the Emergency Hospital
on the grounds of the Pan American En-
position, Buffalo, in speaking of the nature
of the wound said:
THE moment l saw the President | was
shocked at the pallor of his face, and on
examination it was found that his pulse
was abnormally high There was every
| indication that he was dangerously
wounded and that an immc diate operation
was imperative.
Il was greatly impressed with President
Mckinley's forttude and calmness. That
look of quiet dignity characteristic of him
never left his face, and his consideration
for Others was remarkable. He was told
that an operation was imperative.
Gentlemen, was his answer, uttered
in a quiet tone, 4 want you to do whatever
in your judgment you think is necessary
HE was suffering some pain and was
slightly nauseated, but, taking everything
into consideration, he was absolutely calm.
But it was a terrible thing to see him lying
there.
I'm the meanwhile the elder Dr. Mann
had arrived and took charge. The flesh
was cleaned by shaving and by antisertic
solutions. The President was then put
under the influence of anGsthet:cs, which
acted promptly and satisfactorily. An in
cision was made in the abdomen, through
the aperture made by the bullet about
four and one half inches long. Through
this opening the stomach was drawn, and
on examination it was found that the bull
let had passed straight through this organ.
LAS the President had had h, arty
luncheon between and . O'Clock, the
stomach was partly filled with undigest-
ed food This had ooZed through the
holes in the stomach to a certain extent
and had run down into the Abdominal
cavity.
''Sincc the abdomen is incloscd in a lin
ing known as the peritnneum, this lining
had also been perforated by the bullet.
The bullet could not he found. The
abdominal cavity was washed clean with
antiseptic solutions and all possible care
taken to destroy and infections germs.
| The holes in the stomach were ugly
ones, and the rear one was much more
Jagged and torn than the one in front,
through which the bullet passed first.
| This | consider serious, although to be
expected, since the bullet had spent some
of its force by the time it had reached the
farther side of the stomach, and thus tore
rather than pierced its way through.
After repeated bathing of the wound
ed parts with antiseptic lotions the aper-
lures in the stomach were sewed up with
silk sutures and the abdominal cut was
sewed together. The external wound
was then carefully dressed with an anti
septic bath, and a wide abdominal band
age was applied. The body was wrapped
in sheets, around which blankets were
folded, and the President was placed i'll
the ambulance.
The President was still unconscious
when the operation was completed ana
the ambulance had been summoned to
carry the wounded man to the home of
President Milburn. This was fortunate,
for it was much better for him to be car
ried away in an unconscious condition
than for him to awaken and to be con-
scous of the jolting of the vehicle