The Washington times., 1903-05-22
SQUEEZE THE HEART
AND SAVE THE PATIENT
Local Doctors Skeptic on CardiaI
Massage

The surgeons of Washington are
rather skeptical about the heart mas
sage treatment recently discussed at q
meeting of the New York Academy Of
Medicine. by DR.. Robert Coleman
Kemp. OF New York. This method. as
described by Dr. Kemp. is to make
small incIsion between the ribs without
cutting the bone. The fingers are then
| thrust into the opening behind the
heart. a few gentle pressures on the
heart Is all that is required. DR. Kemp
maintains, to revive the circulation. In
conjunction with this process IS an ar
tffcial respiration produced with a
pump. A tube is attached TO the pump
and inserted into the patients throat
as far as the windDipe.
The massage of the heart starts
the human mechanism. so to speak,"
said DR.. Kemp in speaking of his dis
covery. THE other methods restore
the other functions, so that the circu-
lation is restored and the life that was
ebbing away Is brought back"
The Washington surgeons say to re-
vive circulation IT would be necessary
TO do more than gently press the heart;
it would be necessary to grasp IT 1t
would be impossible. they maintain, TO
grasp the heart without removing a rib
which could be done without great
danger-and cutting through the peri
cardium, which would be extremely dan
gerous, both on account of possible ir-
ritation to the pericardium. and be-
cause OF the possibility OF suppuration
setting In after the operation was COM
pleted. Another danger attendant on
such an operation would be the collapse
Of the lungs
It is said DR.. Kemp restored ciTcula-
ton in the heart of a dog which had
stopped beating for quarter of an hour.
and the dog lived for several hours. This.
Washington doctors assert. would be i'm
possible on account OF the CLOTHING OF tbs
blood IN the heart when the beating has
stopped.
They further say this treatment would
only be used as a hasty nakeshift to
resuscitate a person about TO suecunb
under an anesthetic on the operating
table. The very hastiness of 1t, though,
renders It dangerous operation. 1t has
been suggested 1t might be OF use In
cases OF drowning. opium poisoning, SUI
fooation and stillbirths. But in such
cases 1t would be still more difficult
successfully to resuscitate the patient.
since the necessary instruments and doc
tors are seldom at hand in such cases
This method of resuscitation was frst
suggested as far back as 1892 by Or.
George Rowell in an article IN tho
British Medical Journal" Heart mas
sage is the name applied by many to
the new treatment.
Three years ago one of the leading
surgeons of Copenhagen, Denmark. was
treating man for diphtheria- The sur
geon, In the presence OF several phy
sicians, cut open the chest and laid
bare the heart. which showed no symp
toms of cardiac action. The surgeon
took the still and pulseless heart in his
hand and began TO squeeze IL rhythmic
ally. In half an hour 1t was slowly fut-
tering. and an hour later 1t was beat
ing strongly at the rate OF sixty TO the
minute
This was about a. NJ. and the man
lived until the following midnight,
dying then because the windpipe was
so INSTRUCTED by the throat disease that
sir could not be sent TO his lungs. a
full report of this operation was made
at the time in the medical journals, and
the operating surgeon said he was con-
fdent the restored heart action would
have met all the requirements Of con-
tinuous life had the air tubes been free.