The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-10-29

/
The SWIFT SPECIFIC CO.. ATLANTA. a.
successfully removed from one side
| comparatively large portions of the
| skull have been removed from the I'M
| DERIVING brain, with no other covering
than the soft parts left as a protec-
ton. More than this, relatively large
| areas of certain portions of the brain
may be safely removed. One of the
| most remarkable instances on record
of the non-surgical removal of a con-
| siderable portion of substance,
with a successful termination, is what
is known as the American Crowbar
Case" where a workman in the act
of blasting had crowbar blown COM
| pletely through his skull and brain;
not only was he not killed, but he re-
covered with a useful brain. His skull
is now in the Harvard Museum.
Parts of the vertebrae making up the
| spinal canal may be removed, but no
complete cross-section of the column
surrounding the cord can be safely
| made. No complete cross section, no
| matter how small, can be removed
| from the cord without paralysis of all
parts beyond, although limited portions
of the cord have been removed in the
| excelsior of tumors and in other oper-
ations. One may continue living, too
with the loss of his pharynx, oesopha-
| gus, and trachea; but these involve
| substitutions. There are, besides,
many parts of the body which can be
| temporarily removed, in whole or in
| part, and grow upon being replaced
| in their original site. An interesting
| form of the osteoplastic method of op-
| Grating, applicable to cone covered re-
| gions, is known as the osteoplastic
| flap, in which, for instance, a horse
| e-shaped incision is made though
| the soft parts down to the bone, along
the curved line of the horseshoe, which
| is then, along the same line. chiselled
| or sawn through; then, without de-
| taching the soft parts from the bone,
| the entire flap of bone and adherant
| soft parts is snapped back across an
| imaginary line between the free ends
| of the horseshoe, as. upon a hinge, thus
| revealing the structures beneath. At
| the end of the operation the nsteoplas-
| tic flap is turned back into it's natural
1 position, where, in the majority of
cases, it grows without nishap. In
| still other operations portions of bone
may also be entirely removed from all
connections, temporarily kept in tepid,
| sterile salt solution during the re-
mainder of the operation, and then re-
| placed-as is sometimes done in tre-
phining.
|
| structures which may be surgically In
| vaded by incision and the lips of the
wound subsequently closed by suture.
| The heart is the only organ whose cav
| ity has not been deliberately cut into,
| though even it has been entered by a
hollow needle, and its walls have heen
sutured. This, of course, is not an ex-
ample of a total or even partial re-
moval of the organ itself.
A. fA,4 he aor~fc Of he = ne q
of transportation from original site to
| a different site in the same individual
they are many. Skin may be made to
grow upon sites most distant from
those whence taken: a nose may be
made from the skin of an arm, the
arm having been sewed to the nose
until union occurs: the forearm may
be covered with skin obtained by rails
ing a bridge of skin from the front of
the abdomen, adherent at both ends,
slipping the arm through, suturing in
| position, as in a sling, and wearing it
there until the abdominal skin has
grown to the forearm, and then cutting
it down; one leg may be similarly COW
cred by being temporarily sutured to
the opposite leg. Detached CRAFTS of
skin may also be taken from distant
/ parts of the body.
Portions of bone. too. may be made
to grow in positions more or less re-
mote from their origin. The bonY
framework Of the nose may be formed
from the bone of the finger. or by split
ting the bone Of the forehead and
turning it Gown. Muscles may be sew
cred from their natural connections,
where less needed and sutured into
paralyzed or :mperfectly acting mus
clcs. the functioning of which is of
greater Importance. Sound nerves
may be similarly grated upon impair
ed ones. or split and one half engraft-
ed upon the imperfect nerve and the
other half left to perform its original
| function. Intestines may have their
upper end short-circuited into the
stomach several feet lower down in its
length than normal; and the lower ORR
flee of the intestinal canal may be
made to open upon the lower portion
of the abdominal wall, either towards
the front or above the ip-bone-or
may even open upon the upper portion
of the thigh. The gall bladder in
stead of opening by its natural chan
mel into the intestine about four inches
from the stomach. may be ''buttoned'
| into the intestinal canal several feet
from the stomach and there empty it's
bile. Kidneys may be displaced from
their nomal position c'floating" kid
neys), and be tied back TO their own
or an adjacent site.
Many parts of the body are capable
| OF transportation from the original
site in one individual 10 a correspond
ing or different site in another individ-
| ual. Skin. bones. muscles, tendons.
nerves. thyroid gland. and ovarles have
been successfully transplanted by
! variety Of interesting operations: more
| than this, various parts OF the body
can be replaced BY corresponding parts
/ from the lower animals. Gaps and de-
hciencies IN the bony structure Of the
! human being are sometimes filled in
] with either fresh bone. removed ~ the
/ time of the operation from "a lower an.
] imal. or decalened portions ~ the
] fhigh-bone Of an OK Crafts into the
/ deficiencies ~ human tendon are also
sometimes made from the lower ami