The Washington herald., 1907-03-31
REMAKING AN IDIOT
Remarkable Surgical Opera
ti0n on a Toledo Boy.
RELIEF IS ONLY TEMPORARY
Possibility Of Altering the Opera
sioBs of the Brain Through CranfsI
Expansfon-Uneertafn OF the Re-
suit, bat Many Successes Are Cred
ited to Operations for Epilepsy.

The surgical operation on Harold Hur-
| ley. of Toledo. whieh has changed him
from bad boy into good boy and
altered his mental equipment so radically
/ that he is almost another being, has
created unusual interest among the New
York surgeons, for the reason that the
records OF three leading hospitals here do
not show a result OF similar character.
/ says the New York World There have
been hundreds of excisions Of bone from
the skull to relieve abnormal pressure
upon the brain. and so restore the motor
centers to normal activity. but there Is
no data whatever relating 70 any after
effect in the sensoTy centers. which con-
troll the mental impulses.
| The total number Of surgical operations
performed in Bellevue IN 1865 was s.5e7.
of which about 90 per cent dealt with
cranial surgery. There were 1850 opera
/ tions in Roosevelt and /. sos In St Lnke's.
in which the proportion was about ths
same but in no instance was an after
result observed similar 10 tbat In the To-
ledo patient
'An operation Of such Importance and
which would be undertaken only in sZ-
treme cases" said surgeon OF large
practice. would not be performed In the
patients home or in private sanitsrium.
50 it is safe TO assume that the records OF
three hospitals represent all that has
been done in this city IN the line OF
craRial surgery. The case Ia St. Vim
cents Hospital. Toledo. IS Of exceptional
interest TO criminologists, who may open
up a field OF greater practical utility than
the advocates Of death for the incursbls
and the hopelessly insane. The fact that
We have had no similar cases in New
York does not argue at ali against a ply
sicai remedy for retarding degeneration Of
the intellectual powers
There is no question bat that the re-
moVal OF part OF the skull, where some
Interior malformati0n exists in the inner
plate, gives an opportunity for natural
brain expansion, and the loss OF the pro
tective bony covering is more than com
pensated for by the restoration 10 normal
activity OF the cells which have been re-
tarded in development
What Eminent Authorities Say.
''The most eminent authorities on the
may be due to an injury 10 the head,
as in the case Of the Toledo boy, or in the
premature ossihcation of the sutuTes of
the skull, are Rose and Carless. Of Lon
don They say that these conditions usu-
ally are associated with idiocy, and they
use the term idiocy in its broadest sense,
meaning an arrested or imperfect develop
meHt IN all the degrees from complete
imbeciIity 10 the types which have their
development ia criminal tendencies
These surgeons. who have paid par
ticular attention 10 the surgery OF the
brain. say that many attempts have been
made 10 overcome this condition by the
operation of linear craniectomy, or the.
taking away Of portions Of the Uranium 10
permit the expansion OF the brain, but in
this it is evident that they refer 10 the
unfortunates who are utterly lacking I'm
the perceptive faculties. and incapa bic Of
any sensation save hunger and pain. They
do not mean the vicious. because they
admit that the operation 20 transform an
imbecile into a reasoning being is rarely
successful.
THE description Of the cutting away OF
the skull 10 give the brain a chance to
expand is like that IN the Toledo case, so
far as the lay account may be depended
upon. a broad strip Of bone is exeised on
either side Of the median line from back
10 front. The size of the opening ia in
creased from the front OF the head 10
the back by a circular saw. driven BY
electricity. The shock To the nervous svs-
TEN would be too great 10 remove both
strips Of the skull at the one time, and
the operations are performed separately
at an interval of five or six weeks.
JustifabIe Experiment.
The English surgeons say in their text
books that temporary improvement has
followed in many eases. but the final re-
suit has been shown to be extremely un-
certain, the majority Of the patients re-
iapsing owing TO the contraction OF the
dense cicatricai material which replaces
the bone. The proceeding cannot be
looked upon as more than q jesufable
experiment
The plain inference Of this opinion is
that the cutting away of such a large
part of the bony protection of the brain
is a toss-up between life and death. A
justifable experiment means. 10 speak
plainly, an experiment IN the interest of
science, and not in the interest OF the
patient. II he or she gets well. all right
II death follows, the community has not
been robbed, and science has been the
gamer
The most famous cranial surgeon We
have In America to-day is Dr. ". ".
Keen, of Philadelphia He has devoted
himself for a quarter of a century TO
operation on the head for the cure OF
epilepsy, and has a record for many sue
cesses. The epileptic condition may so
affect the patient that he does not recog-
nize the difference between right and
wrong, or good and evil, as IN the case
OF young Hurley Ia Toledo. II is impos-
sible TO judge accurately. Of course, from
first reports, but his affiictsoE. due 10 an
injury, seems like petit mai. or minor
epilepsy, and the progress OF the case
undoubtedly viii be watched closely by
the surgical practitioners throughout the
Its Origin Unknown.
Prom the New York Sun.
What is the origin of the cock and
buil'' story? Tt is the despair Of all those