The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-09-22
SOME TRIUMPHS
IN MEDICAL WORLD
NEW NOSES SUPPLIED BY SUR
GEONS-BONES FROM RABBITS
AND BIRDS UTILIZED.

One of the latest recorded triumphs
in surgery is that recently performed
by Professor Berger, the eminent
French surgeon, who presented before
the Acauemle de Medicine boy whom
he had provided with a new nose in
place of the original organ, which had
been lost through the bite of horse.
The loss was repaired by taking a piece
of flesh from the patients arm and,
moulding it to the requisite shape, COW
ering it with a strip of skin brought
down from the forehead.
The loss of the nasal organ has, how
ever been replaced in various ways,
and in one of the most remarkable
cases on record piece of rabbits
bone, freshly removed, was carefully
grated on to the face of The patient.
The case in question was brought be-
fore the Clinical Society a year or two
ago, when it was shown that a youth
who had lost the greater portion of
the nasal organ through an accident
underwent this grating operation with
complete success. A similar case at
tended with good results was that of a
young woman who was provided with
new nasal appendage of live flesh
and bone. a portion of the breast-bone
of blackbird being used in this in
stance. The breast-bone of the bird
being thus successfully grated, the
skin and remaining portions of the
original nose were trained to grow
over it, and the whole adapted to shape
during the healing process. still
more wonderful operation of the kind
was reported to have been performed
in the case of a nOSeleSs man at Char
ing Cross Hospital some few years
back, when one of the patients own
Hrogr ial1 IL snTNa rod in PAf.
tain manner, was successfully grated
on to the face as substitute for the
lost proboscis, and afterwards properly
shaped.
DuJ 1t is not to supply the place q
damaged and missing noses only that
surgical grating is employed. In the
case of a youth who had splintered the
bone Of his arm the daring experiment
OF attaching the femur OF a suitably
large rabbit in corresponding situa-
ton in the injured human limb was
successfully performed in 1896 at Guys
hospital. An equally novel and daring
experiment was performed in 1898 on
a waiter who was admitted into the
Beaujou Hospital. The patient had sus-
tanned an accident by which his two
legs were badly crushed, but instead
of amputatiOn, as at first seemed in
evitable, the surgeons resolved to
adopt the experiment of grating por-
ton of the shin-bone of calf on to
each of the injured legs. The grating
of the shin-bOnes was successful, and
it was reported that the lucky patient
was afterwards enabled to use his
limbs quite freely.
In the same category of surgical sue
cesses must be included the case of a
boy operated on in the Charity Hos
pital, New York. In this instance
portion of dogs fore-leg was grated
in the patients leg to take the place
of a bone that had been removed, the
process taking about twelve days to
complete. The grating of whole patch
es of human skin from one person to
another is now regarded bv surgeons
as no yer great novelty. And ii may
be mentioned incidentally that two or
three years ago a woman in Auckland,
New, Zealand, brought an action
against a doctor for removing no less
than so square inches of her skin to
graft on to another patient who was
injured and disfigured by buras. The
repair of the damaged human physiog-
nomy by surgical grating presents
some interesting possibilities, and
seemingly there is little that the scien-
tific surgeon dare not attempt in this
direction. 1t is an actual fact that sur
gerry has found a means of supplying
a patient with a new face If needs be.
One of the most remarkable cases in
the annals of medicine came to light in
1898, when a patient who had accident
ly shot away part of his features was
supplied with a face of celluloid and in
da rubber.