Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1904-12-14
Her Head Was Barred to the Bone by
Accident and a Daring Surgeon
Supplied Another.
A GREAT CASE OF GRATING
Her Forehead Was Afterwards Patch.
ed With Human skin to Replace
Hide Of the Dog.

PSSocSSSo thc ulOSl lt"HldThdule nan
OF any woman on earth. 1t is very
short at present and inclined to be
curly, shading from jet black i've the
left a to a pretty brown at the front,
merging first into a pink and then to
white at the back. The hair itself
and the scalp, from which 1t is begin
ming to sprout nicely. originally be-
longed to a Newfoundland dog. Two
weeks ago the dogs scalp was trans
ferred to Miss Stewart S head by a
very daring and novel surgical opeI-
alton to replace the top of that young
woman's head, which was torn of
bodily in IN accident at the factory of
Yawman & Erbe, where she was eni.
ployed.
The accident was caused In a pe.
culiar manner. Miss Stewart, who had
long and beautiful black hair, which
she wore pompadour style, was mount
ing a ladder when 1t occurred. Run
ming overhead was a revolving shaft
with belt attachments for operating
the paper cutter and binding machines
on that floor Of the factory. To pass
ander the betting the young woman
was obliged to stoop. AS 1t happen
ed, she did not stoop quite low enough,
for her hair was caught, and in 4
moment Miss Stewart was whirled up.
ward and around the shaft
The force was so great that the re-
volying machinery tore Miss Stew
arts hair and scalp ana part of her
left a bodily from her head. As the
scalp was torn loose she dropped to
the ground, while the bleeding tangle
OF flesh, hair and skin continued whiz-
zlng around and around the shaft TN
til the machinerw va stopped.
Miss Stewart was sent in an ambu-
lance to the Hahnemann Hospital,
where the house surgeon, DIR. j. w.
Sooy, displayed rare good Judgment
by doing exactly the right thing at the
right time. Indeed, it is to DR.. Sooy
that Miss Stewart is indebted not only
for her rapid recovery, but for her
new scalp and hair as well.
The young woman's head presented
a sickening sight as she as lifted out
OF the ambulance and carried direct
to the operating room From just
above the eyebrows to the nape of the
neck and sideways from ear to ear the
scalp was gone, exposing the bare
skull. Scarcely a nartIcle of flesh
was left on top of her head.
Just as DIR. Sooy was preparing a
hasty diagnosis of her injuries they
recalled to his mind an account of a
somewhat similar accident which oc-
Cured in Germany a few years ago.
He remembered reading about the
case in a medical publication, and it
had impressed itself on his memory,
because 1t stated that a dogs scalp
had been successfully grated to the
skull of the injured man.
Although such an operation as this
had never been attempted here, ow'
ing partially to its apparent imprac.
tibility and to the fact that few per-
sons would care to have a dogs scalp
and hair growing on the top of their
heads, the house surgeon dispatched
q messenger In search Of a large
young and healthy dog, a Scotch ellie
or Newfoundland being preferred. AT
the same time DIR. Frank w. Fowler,
of the Hahnemann Hospital staff; DR.,
M. e. Graham, of the Graham Sanitar.
ium; DIR. Gordon T. Graham, his son
DR.. Alexander Hermance. Of the hos
pital stan: DR.. J. l.. Kane, one Of the
hahnemann house surgeons, and DR.
Grant Benjamin were summoned.
1t did not take them long to decide
that II Miss Stewards life was to be
saved and her life made worth living
II would be necessary for them to
supply her with a scalp. To dc
this the living scalp from another per
son or animal would have to be trans
ferred to the young woman's head. |,
would have been unreasonable to sup
pose that any person could be found
at once who would willingly sacrifice
his or her scalp for the sake of an
other person, so the hospital sur
geons decided to substitute a young
but full grown Newfoundland which
had Just been brought to the hos
pital by the attendant sent out to pro
cure one.
The dog was examined and found to
be perfectly healthy. Before being
taken into the operating room II was
first led out into the hospital yard and
treated to a bath. After that the TOT
of the dogs head and the neck as fal
down as the shoulders were shaved
clean and sterilized to make sure thai
not M solitary germ or particle oI
dirt remained.
From there the animal was removed
to the operating room. anaesthesizet
and laid Oh the operating table, with
its head almost touching that Of tht
patient, who had also been anaes
thetized.
DIR. Fowler performed the operation
OF transferring the dogs scalp to tn,
head OF Miss Stewart, aided by tn,
other surgeons and physicians VIII,
had been called in.
you must understand" said DR.
Sooy after the operation. that tn,
dogs scalp was not removed bodil,
and sewn down on the young woman
skull. Such an operation as tina
would have been very simple an,
useless, compared with what actual!
had to be done.
1T was necessary to maintain
circulation II the scalp all the tim,
the transfer was being made. Thi
was the onl! way in which the ski
could be kept alive ana healthy.
80 a Ions strip was first lifted OIL
three sides from the dogs head an,
laid over across Miss Stewart skull
and sewed here to the ragged eds'
of the skin " her forehead and dow
the right side. In this way. by no
entirely seering the strip Of seal
from the dogs head until after II ha,
been attached TO Miss Stewards skull
the circulation was maintained an
the skin kept alive. Strip after stri.
was cut from the dogs head and necl