The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-02
WILL GRAFT SKIN
ON WOMAN CONVICT
NECESSARY TO SAVE LIFE.
VOLUNTEERS WANTED TO GIVE UP
SKIN FOR BURNED WOMAN.


Girl Who Was Badly Burned mt
the County ChnIngang Last Month.
Little Chance for the WOman's
Recovery Unless Live Skin Can BE
Secured to Graft to Burned Place.
Fellow COnvicts VIII BE Asked to
vOIunteer-FOur Are Needed.
WANTED-Three and half yards
of skin, black preferred, in strips
about one inch wide. Apply to DIR. ID.
G. Barrow, Georgia Infirmary.
Julia Grant, the negro girl who was
so badly burned at the County Farm
in January lies at the Georgia In
Urinary in an almost hopeless condi-
ton, suffering the intense agony pro-
duced by deep burns, and unless the
physicians can secure skin for the
burned parts, it is not believed that
she will recover.
DIR. Craig Barrow who has been
treating the case, has asked that he
be furnished with volunteers who are
willing to part with some of their
skin that it might be grated on to
the burned woman convict, but so
far there have been no humanitarians
of this type to come forward.
The request will be promulgated
among the inmates of the county
changing to-day, and unless there are
volunteers within two or three days
DR.. Barrow says he will seek the last
resort, securing the skin from the back
of dog of the hairless variety.
1t will require about three and half
yards of skin, from one to two inches
wide, to meet the purposes for which
it is needed.
Dark Shin Is Wanted.
The woman who was burned is I'M
usually dark, and it is preferred to get
skin as near her color as possible, but
if colored skin cannot be secured white
or bright mulatto will do.
DIR. Barrow says that the woman's
chances of recovery are decidedly slim,
but that he is going to undertake the
grating anyway, which it is thought
will be of benefit to her, and will aid
much in case she does recover. She
has been at the infirmary now about
two weeks, and has suffered the most
intense agony.
The most popular method adopted in
which consists of covering the raw
surface with strips of skin composed
of the two upper or outer layers of
the epidermis from one-eighth to two
inches in width and from one to three
or four inches in length, which are cut
from the skin of the patient from some
other part of the body or from the
body of some sympathetic persons,
and even from some animals that are
more or less akin to human beings.
This is done by thoroughly cleaning
the surface of the part and then
shaved off by sharp razor or scalpel.
1t is then placed in a salt solution of
weak strength and is ready to apply
to the surface of the raw places. The
raw surface is first irrigated or wash
ed thoroughly with weak salt solu-
ton and scraped carefully TO expose
the surface fresh.
How Grating Is Done.
If there is much bleeding the hemorr-
hage is checked by soft cotton gauze
pads being pressed against the skin.
After the skin has been dried and the
hemorrhage Ncontrolled the strips of
skin are transferred to the whole sur
face. if possible Rubber tissues, which
have been thoroughly sterilized, are
then placed over the strips or gratis.
and sterilized gauze and cotton are
placed over this.
This dressing should remain about a
week and other dressings of similar
nature applied to the CRAFTS from time
to time. If the CRAFTS should turn a
pink color in three or four days, 1t is
a sign that all goes well, but if they
turn white it is an indication that the
operation is not a success. The white
skin will roll up and exfoliate.
The backs of the frog are sometimes
used, and the hairless skins of young
animals, when human CRAFTS are not
obtainable. One of the chief advan-
tages of grating is that it heals much
more rapidly and does not leave the
dfsfiguring scar commonly resulting
where burns are allowed to heal by
granulation. Grating has been at
tempted successfully in a large number
of cases within the last few years, and
even false noses and ears have been
| grated on to persons.
DR.. Barrow said that he will require
about four volunteers in order to get all
of the skin that would be needed in this