Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-08-26
'rHESURGEON's TOOLS
AS FEW AS POSSIBLE USED BY THE
MODERN PRACTITIONER.

Necessary In One of His Pockets,
Hand Forged Instruments the Hest.
"A surgeon used to carry bag of in
ttrulnents weighing often rs much as
twenty-five pounds when he was called
to operate" said member of the staff
OF the New York Postgraduate Med
icnl School md Hospital the other day.
Today an average operation, such as
the removal OF IN appendix, calls for no
more Instruments thun can be carried
IN the pockets
II have Just come" continued the doc
tor, From removing an appendix, and
here In this small package are all the
instruments used-a scissors, two ar
.e'y clamps. two forceps and needle.
Mhay operations, of course--gastro-
enterlc, genealogical and those that
have to do with bones-requlre more
instruments, but modern science de-
manus the use OF us few as possible In
order that time may be saved. Skill
ana haste are prime factors In an op-
Grafton. In the old days, before nnaes-
thesin was known, this was to shorten
tile patients agony us much rs possible.
After ether was discovered surgeons
for awhile operated more lelsurely, but
soon finding out that the shock to the
patient remaining under ether SO long
was always dangerous and often futul
they again recognized the Importance
of swiftness. Diminishing the number
of Instruments was one OF the methods
FOR saving time. III the operating room
III the old days there was always, no
matter what the operation, II good sized
table Ibid out with ten or fifteen score
Of Instruments, fifty artery clamps,
, scissors, forceps and faucets by the
dozen. 1t used to tulie over an hour to
remove an appendix; today the average
Is about twelve minutes.
THE variety of Instruments increases
every year rs surgeons meet with new
needs or solve old problems. In our
school here, us In others, many instru-
inents have been devised. Especially
TO those having to do with the eye, ear,
nose and throat have we made valua-
bic additions as well us In the field Of
orthopedic appliances. The Hlppocrut-
ic oath preclndes the patcnting OF any
such Inventions; consequently all In
Struments are free to be made by all
and every surgical manufuctory."
Tho making of surgical instruments
In the United States Is nearly contem-
pornneous with the beginning Of the
republic, and one or two OF the proml-
nent firms today date from long before
the civil wnr. III no country are finer
instruments made than In the United
Statcs. Though the number of men
employed Is small, every man Is Il
skilled laborer aud an artist, with an
adroltness often us fine us that of u
journeymnn jeweler. capable OF max
ing even the most delicate Of the great
| variety of Instruments, amounting to
! about 10000, which surgical house
must keep In stock or be ready to pro-
duce upon order.
Cast and drop forged instruments
have no lasting value, and once the
edge Is worn of they can never he sat
isfactorily reshnrpened The process
which they undergo demands that they
be brought three times to white
heat The first time the steel becomes
tempered; the second and third time 1t
becomes decarboniZed and loses its
temper. the result being IN instru-
ment with Il shell Of hard steel, capa-
bic OF taking fair edge, but beneath
which the metal Is soft and unfit to
stand honing.
"All good Instruments are hand
forged. Thus prices are doubled aud
trebled over the prices OF cast instru-
ments because of the skilled labor and
time necessary to their construction
The workman In careful factory
must make study of his work and
learn the physical qualities of the
steel or metal he works with, its
strength and cutting and tension quail
tiles General operating Instruments
are made of steel, silver, platinum,
| gold and aluminium. German steel,
owing to Its tenaclty, Is used for for
ceps and blunt instruments; English
cast steel for edged tools, as 1t receives
n high temper. II fine polish and re-
! tains It's edge. Silver when pure is
very flexible and Is useful for cattle
tiers, which require frequent change Of
curve. When mixed with other metals,
| rs coin silver, 1t makes Arm catheters,
caustic holders and cannulated work.
| Seamless silver instruments are least
liable to corrode. Platinum resists the
J action Of acids and ordinary heat and
Is useful for caustic holders, actual
| cauteries and the electrodes Of the
galyano cautery. Gold, owing to its
ductllity, is adapted for fine tubes,
such as eye syringes and SO forth,
while aluminium is by its extreme
lightness suitable for probes, styles
and tracheotomy tubes.
Handles are mnde Of ebony, ivory.
pearl or hard rubber. Ebony and rub
Der are used for large Instruments