The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-06-01

From the New York American.
DR.. Robert Coleman Kemp. of No. 107
East Fifty-seventh street, yesterday gave
to representative of the American the
first public statement he has made about
the method of restoring life after death
from certain causes, which he demon
strated before the New York County
Medical society on Monday night. DR..
Kemp although a young man, has al
ready won the reputation as surgeon of
skill and an investigator along original
lines OF research. He talked yesterday
with great modesty. yet with an air of
confidence in himself that was most re-
assuring.
ut is true that DR.. A. w. Gardner and
myself have been makins some very in
teresting experiments along the lines
originally suggested by German scientists
in the direction of the restoration of life
after death. These experiments have
been to some degree successful, and we
have attempted some improvements over
the method practiced which was purely
experimental
II think II is safe to say, as a result Of
cur experiments, that when death has
not been caused by an organic disease,
but by suffocation, asphixiation drown
Ing or shock. and all other known restor-
alive treatments have failed, the practice
of heart massage may, in a small pro-
portion OF cases be successful in restor-
ing life. II properly done before actual
decay of the tissues has set In.
nttr Inns we aafn RI
eleven of the twenty-three dead dogs we
| experimental upon. Most of them died
| afterward, but from other causes, such
as infection of the wound made for the
purpose of reaching the heart. and our
inability to keep the animals under con-
troll and in the quiet that should follow
such an operation. With the intelligent
cooperation of human patient. a person
thus restored to life should stay alive in
definitely, because the operation in itself
is no more serious than the very common
operation in pleurisy Of opening the pleur-
al cavity for the removal of pus.
I'm the experiments thus conducted in
Germany several ribs were resected and
an opening large enough to admit the
whole hand made, so that the heart might
be actually grasped by the operator.
That was brutal and unnecessary, be-
sides being intensely dangerous. In our
I experiments we first tried trephining
hole in the sternum. then rcsecting a sim
gle rib. and finally adopted the plan of
making n simple incision between the
ribs. Just enough to admit two fingers OF
| the operator.
THE principal secret of success, I be-
lieve is cleanliness. If perfectly asep-
| tic wound Is made there VIII be no trou-
| Bile whatever from the wound in case OF
the patients restoration to life.
"The method of operation is extremely
simple. After the incision is made the
operator thrusts two fingers into the
wound and places them behind the heart,
so as to be able to compress the heart
| against the ribs. The patient Is placed
in an inverted position and the regular
systoie and dlastolc, the contraction and
expansion Of the heart muscles with the
peculiar double stroke that Is so noticea-
Bile at the pulse, is begun.
"At the same time, by means of new
| ly-invented intubation tube and artificial
respiration device. work Is begun on the
lungs BY this new device a measured
quantity of air. corresponding exactly 10
the normal inhalation. is forced into the
lungs and out again. thus exactly imitat-
ing their natural labor, as the fingers OF
| the operator are initiating the natural
motion OF the heart.
s'Promptness in administering this
| treatment when II Is apparent that other
| means have failed to restore life is es-
| sential In the case of one dog the heart
| had ceased to beat and all the functions
| had ceased sixteen minutes before the
| treatment was begun. The body was ac-
| tually cold. The treatment continued for
| forty minutes, at the end of which time
the dog was alive and all of the natur al
| functions, including those of the brain,
| we're In perfectly normal working order
| "It will be important to perseyere In
| the treatment. even when 1t seems hope
| less. I think 1t possible that a human
being might have been dead for an ho,-r
and yet after two or three hours of this
| treatment be restored to life.
] so far as I know the new method Of
! restoring life has been tried but once in
this country ON a human being. That was
! one Of our cases. in which the woman had