Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-12-04
CURING HEART WOUNDS AC-
TUALLY POSSIBLE.
NUMEROUS INSTANCES
Thirteen Cases in Which Cuts
in the Organ Have Been
Mended SuccessfuIIy-Excee dingIy
Nice Work by the Sur
geons.

NNNoO
wound of the heart which was operat-
ed on recently at Bellevue hospital, in
New York City, a medical man said:
While this case must be classeQ
among those unfortunate cases of
which it is said that the operation
was a success although the patient
died, nevertheless, as a matter of fact.
this remarkable operation has . been
successfully performed a number of
times.
1T is only during the last six years
that surgeons have been bold enough
to attempt operations on the heart.
About twenty years ago DR.. John
b. Roberts of Philadelphia suggested
the possibility of sewing a wound of
the heart. 1t was not until 1894 that
DR.. Del Vecchio of Naples demon
strated the practicability of the idea
by performing the operation in expert
ments on dogs before the Inter-
national Medical congress.
''In 1896 the operation was actually
undertaken for the first time on a
human Being. DR.. Farina of Rome
made the attempt, but his patient died
six days after the operation. In this
case death was due to pneumonia
up to the present day, including
the case in Bellevue hospital, the at
tempt has been made thirty-five times
to sew wound of the heart. AL
together the operation has proved
successful thirteen times. These
figures apply to cases in which the
wound has actually penetrated to the
interior of the heart.
THE first successful operation for
wound of the heart was performed in
1896 by DR.. REIN. Since then DR..
Fontan has sewed wounds of the heart
in two patients and saved both of
them from bleeding to death. DR..
Nietert, an American surgeon, has
succeeded twice in three operations.
of the thirty-five cases, five dieo
on the operating table from hem,
olrhage, ten died shortly after the
operation, and seven lived for varying
time, but finally died from infection
of the wound. OF the whole number,
thirteen actually recovered.
DR.. Launay's case is perhaps the
most remarkable on record. The in
jury was a bullet wound. The ball
passed through the heart. 1t entered
near the top of the heart on the front
and came out close to the base on
the back of the heart. Both wounds
were stitched and the patient re-
covered completely in a short time
This experience almost justifies the
remark of an overenthusiastic young
medical man, who declared that at the
present time if a man wants to die he
must have his heart cut out and
killed with a club.
I'm DIR. Watten's case he found it
necessary to place his hand behind
the heart to hold and steady it while
he introduced the stitches. AS soon
as the wound was closed the action OF
the heart became less tumultuous
than before the operation.
Zone operator stated that after the
heart was grasped by the forceps its
action was interfered with tenn
porarily, but it soon began to beat
rapidly and violently as long as the
instrument was in place. He says
it almost seemed as if the heart was
and at first checked by the
bite of the forceps, and then made
violent efforts to escape from the grip
which held it.
SAT one time it was thought that
needle puncture of the heart would
prove fatal 1t is now known that
such a wound does no great harm.
The hemorrhage which follows stops
spontaneously and quickly. Bleeding
from wounds inflicted by sharp IN
struments is more profuse than when
the wound is made by bullet. When
the wound is made in a transverse
direction the hemorrhage is more
severe that if the wound runs parallel
to the course of the filters of the heart
muscle.
Wounds of the heart heal the same
way as in any other part of the body |
that the heart is an
organ whose function never ceases, !
u 10 LuooI IchldihdDle lldl udtuTS 10 I
able to repair an injury involving a |
part which is never at rest even for a
second of time. Nevertheless, it is
true that the process of repair often !
takes place, and the scar marking /
he site of the wound will be firm Ill I,
fourteen days.
"All heart wounds do not cause |
instant death. Many patients live /
number of days before hemorrhage |
proves fatal even when no operation !
IS performed. Without an operation !
more than 80 per cent. of the heart |
wounds terminate in death.
IF it were possible to reach the
heart easily the question OF treating 1t
would have long ago been /
solved. When surgeon is called to |
\ person who is bleeding to death |
from an injury to the heart. he cannot |
take hold of the wounded |
organ and proceed to sew the rent in
rs wall, made by knife or bullet, |
rs the case may be. While the heart |
IS really only a short distance from
he surface of the body. it requires