Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-10-30

AQOlpn LOTGUZ WHO p6IIOluI5 LII cIClSH
in surgery? Who is he who came tC
Chicago from Austria for fee great
er than any surgeon ever before re
eeivea, and, after dealing successfully
with most difficult case, spent the
greater part of week attending de-
formed children whose parents are
Benniless?
Prof. Lorenz is a giant TeutOn, with
a beard and an exterior resembling
the impossible King Leopold Of Bel
GUM. This beard has a most familiar
appearance When first you look al
it you are reminded of King Leopold;
then you think of Tolstoi and the
painter Verestchagin.
Ii you had visited the Auditorium
Annex almost any day last week you
would have found him the central fig
ure in a truly pathetic scene. Dozens
Of mothers with crippled children sur
rounded his suite, tearfully beseech-
ing him to do something for their lit
tie ones There were children with
shrunken limbs, with twisted feet and
as eager as their mothers to have this
man who had cared for millionaire S
daughter to try to cure their defOrmi-
ties.
In one of his rooms sat the big
kind-hea.ted Austrian going over a
mass of correspondence. Most Of the
letters were from persons in other
ut Of off 20 bIJ-
lous sums to give them few hours or
a day of his time.
What do | care for their money!"
said the surgeon rather impatiently.
Il should like to accommodate them,
but truly, | am hOmesick; | want to
get back to dear Vienna"
Then, turning to one of his secreta-
ries, he said:
Tell those waiting outside to at
tend one of the clinics which l am
holding at the hospitals, and then I
will try to do something for the tots -
While making his comment he kept
sorting his letters. His large head
swayed backward and forward con-
stantly like a. pendulum. This motion
caused the ends of his beard to per
form antics on the buttons of his
sack coat.
You want to know something
about my early Iife?" he repeated in
response to a question. ''WeIl, in the
first place, | was not born in Vienna.
| was born on farm in northern Aus
tria. My father was not particularly
wealthy, and when | was a lad l had
to work hard very hard
Il did not go to Vienna until began
the study of medicine When / en-
tered the university there | soon be
came interested in orthopedic surgery,
and | have since made this study the
aim OF my life. I was a poor student,
at least SO far as money goes, and |
had no easy time of it.
Some fifteen years ago, when it
was generally considered among sur
geons that nothing could be done to
effect a cure of cOngenital hip disloca-
ton, BucIminster Brown. a surgeon
living in Boston, conceived the idea
Of holding a patient in extension, and
by traction to stretch the tissues suf-
fciently to bring the head of the fe-
muir opposite the socket This treat
ment met with little appreciation in
America, but was accepted in England
and is used there today in the treat
ment OF many cases.
This was, however. a treatment al
most as bad as the disease. and it was
questionable whether or not any good
resulted from such operations. At
last it was found that the patients
were not cured. But the effect Of this
theory upon the profession was to
stimulate interest and research and
in Germany, Italy, Austria, and the
United States some slight advance
ment was made.
Nine years ago Plea, the famous
Italian surgeon, and myself conceived
the same idea Of operation without the
knife-by manipulation. I operated
upon q child and was successful He
operated upon an adult and failed.
'7The surgeons both of Europe and
America were for several years quite
loath to accept this form of treatment
It was manner Of manipulation and
seemingly apart from regular surgical
procedure, and many verbal battles
were fought as to whether or not
had made an actual reduction of the
dislOcatiOn. There is no longer. any
dispute about it. That l did make, anG
have since made, such actual reduc
tons has been proved, not alone by
anatomical dissection which is unan
swerable, but by the X-ray, the func
tional result and the unmistakabIt
phenomena at the time of the opera
ton, prove that actual reductions ar,
made.
The success of the treatment de
ponds upon a minute attention to de
tails after the first actual reduction
Of the dislocation is made These de
tails refer to the position of the limb
the stretching Of the contracting an,
re-dislocating muscles and the enIare
ing of the anterior portion of the car
sule of the socket, and by manipule
ton before incasing the limb in tn
plaster cast. After this is done | al
ply plaster of paris dressing such a
will thoroughly immobilize the lin
and still permit sufficient weight t
be transmitted through the shaft {
the bone to enable nature to do he
part of the work in forming and deel
ening the socket, which must so gras
the head of the bone as to give it SUI