The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1908-01-09
A SURGICAL TRIUMPH.
Professor FIeXner TranspIants Blood
Channels OF Animals.

D-h4OI4 AO-NiN4J 4Odd vi luG INONkG-
Teller Institute for Medical Re
search, in New York city, has sue
ceeded i'll transplanting arteries
from our animal to another sue
cessfully. That fact has been re-
vealed in paper just read before
the physiological section of the
American Association for the Ad-
vancement of Science in the Uni
versity Of Chicago.
1t is the first time in the history
of the world, surgeons assert, that
so difficult a feat of surgery has
been accomplished. Whether the
surgical innovation will be per-
fected to such degree that it can
be applied to the treatment of
aneurism and other arterial dis
eases is still an open question.
That, however, is the end aimed
at by Professor Flexner and his
assistants in the Rockefeller In
stitute. It is admitted it is a
long cry between performing
such an Grafton on an
animal and performing it on a
human being, but surgeons are
hopeful. The understanding here
is that John D. Rockefeller, foun-
der of the institute, has been keep
ing in close touch with the expert
ments and is delighted because of
their success.
It is admitted on all sides that
if the experiments should be ex-
tended to men and women with
the same success that has attended
those made on animals, thousands
of lives will be saved annually in
all sections of the world. Aneur-
ism, for instance, will lose its ter
rors, and 50 will many other dis
eases of the arteries which now are
regarded as practically incurable.
Aneurism is a localized dilation of
an artery due to pressure of blood
acting on a part OF the artery
weakened by accident or by dis
ease.
A patient afflicted with this
breaking down OF the walls of the
artery simply would have to go to
a hospital, get on the operating
table, and the surgeons would cut
out diseased section Of the artery
and splice in new section of cor
responding length and diameter
taken from an animal Nobody
denies that it would be hard on the
animal, but it would enjoy the
distinction of having died TO save
human life.
There are optimists who assert
that a somewhat similar process
could be applied to the lungs,
liver, kidneys and other parts of
the body, substituting healthy ami
NAL tissue for unhealthy human
tissue, The professors in the in
stitute make no such assertions.
They rest upon the plain state
ment that they have demonstrated
Conclusively, not once, but several
times within the last two years,
that arteries may be transplanted
from one animal to another and
that the second animal will live.
Professor Flexner could not
come to Chicago to read his paper
on Tendencies in Pathology, ="
which contained announcement of
his great surgical discovery. He
sent it to Prof. Ludwig Hegtoen,
who read it. Pending its appear
ance in the medical journals the
university officials refuse to make
the text public. 1t is known,
however, that Professor Flexner
prepared it with great care, 50 no
eXtravagant claims would be made
which might bring ridicule upon
the institute. He would not even
assert that the principle could be
extended to human beings, but
the framing Of his paper on that
point indicated clearly he believed
that ultimately it would be.
Many animals were sacrificed to
science in the institute before final
success was obtained. Elk peri
ments were made on several kinds