The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1903-06-25
a--44
HOW l0RENz OPERATES
Curing Of Crippled Children Ex-
planned by Famous Surgeon.
VOW w0RKswITH HIS HANDS ONLY


At First . Screw Was Used to Pull
Limbs Into Their Places-In Dih-
cult Cases Weights Are Employed.
of Operation Is Very Rapid.
In recent interview DR.. Adolf Lo.
said to q representative Of the New
York Independent:
The new thing which have to teach
surgeons is that many malformatiOns
and diSlOcatiOnS can be cured by the
use of the human hands and by manip-
| ulation of the malformed or dislocated
part without any cutting. 1t is no re-
Election upon the excellent surgeons of
America that l have something new to
show them, because the results of my
earliest bloodless operations performed
with the hands were in the nature of
discoveries and as new to me as to 9TH
ers. America teaches the rest of the
! world many things and therefore can
sometimes learn with a good grace.
l have been performing these opera
tons for about fifteen years and have
in that time treated about 1000 cases
by the new method These cases have
included clubfoot, double or single dis,
placement of the hip, wry neck and 9TH
er malformatiOns.
Previous to 1886 l used the knife in
treating the hip dislocations and in
consequence almost invariably got a
resulting stiff hip in the patient. By
the present method | get 40 per cent o,
cures that seem to be absolutely per
feet, so that child that has two dis
located hips and is almost unable to
drag itself about can in little while
run and jump as well as any other. In
another 80 per cent the cure is not per-
feet, for slight limp is left, and in the
remaining 80 per cent there is at least
40 injury to the patient.
have learned by my experience that
it is better to set an age limit for these
operations, and l do not now generally
undertake to treat children over six
years of age where both hips are out
Of joint or over nine years of age where
one is displaced. l used to treat older
children, but gave ii up as the results
were not good, owing to the strength
of the muscles that bound the limb
into the wrong position.
AT first used a sort of screw to pull
limbs into their places, but it was too
rough, and l gave that up and now use
the hands alone, though in difficult
cases the limbs are prepared for the
operation by means Of weights that
pull them, some Of them being as
heavy as eighty pounds.
Though the treatment of the child's
malformed or misjointed limb may ap-
pear to the layman to be very severe
and though great deal of force is
certainly applied in tearing the muscles
that bind the bones in the false posi-
ton, yet when the child awakeS from
the ether it feels no pain. Recovery
from the immediate effects of the Oper-
alton is very rapid, and the child
should be moving about in two or
three days, using the limb that has
been treated. | want the child to use
| the limb as soon as possible, for in
most cases the head of the femur and
the socket in which it works do not
work tremendously becaus during all
the patients life they have grown
apart Use will remove this difficulty.
After the operation to reduce con-
genital dislocation of the hip the pa
tient is kept in the plaster cast about
nine months, though encouraged at the
same time to move about, using the
limb that has been treated and espe-
cially bearing weight on il. Some little
patients with these casts upon them
are very lively. l remember boy
from Berlin who was in a cast that
| held his legs out in spread eagle style.
! the knees and toes pointing in opposite
directions. He used to gallop sidewise
about the streets. By the time the cast
| is taken off the muscles have knit the
limb into it's new position, and if it has
been we'll used all joint difficulties have
vanished and the cure is as complete
as though the child had had two good
limbs from the beginning.
Sometimes there is no socket or one
of it's walls is too low to properly retain
the head of the femur when it is put in
place. This can often be remedied by
boring with the femur itself at the
time of the operation. The plaster cast
then holds the bone in place till TIE
muscles bind it there.
''TvxO From Five Leaves Three
Said Electric VentilatOr Victim.