The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-05-05
Eminent Specialists From All
Sections Of Country Con.
slider Vital Questions.
WONDERFUL STRIDES
OF MEDICAL SCIENCE
Able Papers Deal With Problems
of Present Day-Reception Held
Last Night at Westrnoreland.
Visiting Ladies Enter
tainedbyP Prominent
Richmond People.

by. CULLEN $. PITT, NJ. D.

BY. CULLEN $. PITT, NJ. d.
-HE American Surgical Associa-
ton, the largest and most dis
tinguished body OF Its char
II acter in the world. met In an
nual convention in the audi
torium of the Jefferson Hotel
yesterday morning at 10 o'clock.
the first session of the orsani-
zation In Richmond since 1881.
Composed Of 125 OF the leading sur
geons In America, eighty-f1ve Of the
members were in attendance when the
president, DIR. William II. Carmalt. OF
New Haven. Conn, raped the body to
order. This number was augmented
during the day by several later ar
rivals, and others are expected to-day.
Including Drs. Sauerbruch, of Ger
many, and Chipault. of France, who.
with Or. Moynihan, Of Leeds. one of
the most distinguished living English
surgeons, have been especially invited
to read papers during the present meet
ing.
Members OF the association are
chosen with reference to their distinc-
tion as authors. teachers and practi- :
TONERS, and election to membership
is regarded as a high and enviable
honor. Among the active fellows are
DR.. George Ben Johnston and Dr. Lewis
C. Bosher, of Richmond.
Both morning and afternoon sessions
were marked by papers of the highest
order and by the valuable discussions
which followed each of them. In the
morning papers were read on surgery
OF the Gasserian Ganglion," by Dr..
Weeks, of Portland. Me-. and on Acute
General Perforative Peritonitis," by DR..
John B. Murphy, of Chicago. while
D, q cttcally the entire afternoon was
devoted to the consideration Of surgery
of the stomach and small intestine, de-
partments in which surgery has made
phenomenal progress in the past few
years. at night the members OF the
body, together With r1any Richmond
physicians, were entertained by Dr.
Bosher at the Westmoreland Club.
The walls OF the state dtning-roon
were massed with pink roses. carna
tions and azaleas. while the table:
were decorated with pink blossoms
The sun-parlor. which was used as
| smoking room, was decorated with
palms and growing plants.
There will be two sessions to-day
the first at $3.50 A. NJ. and the second
at Q P. NJ.
Morning Session.
The association convened at II
| o'clock, and at once Went into eXecu
tive session. The reports of the sec.
retary, treasurer and recorder were
read, and committees were appointed
| on annual meeting, publication ant
| arrangements. At the conclusion o.
| the executive session the doors were
thrown open to the general public, ant
! the president delivered his annual ad
dress. He prefaced his remarks b.
outlining briefly the objects Of the as
sociation. He stated that he had prac
ticed his chosen profession for more
than half century, and had therefore
had the opportunity of witnessing th'
/. marvellous and marked changes tha
have occurred during that vital periot
in the history of the healing arts o
! medicine and surgery. Nowadays. HI
declared. there is al tendency to gen
eralization, to observation of bad re
suits, and percentages are tstudie,
| rather than individual cases. DR.. Car
malt brought out the fact that tn
successful practice of surgery to-da.
requires not only technical skill, bu
involves a knowledge of when an,
when not to operate.
It has not been long since surgeon
would state that the operation was
| success, though the patient died. Nov
no operation is considered success
/ the patient dies either directly or in
! directly as a result of 1t.
Continuing. the speaker stated tina
the boundaries of operative surger,
have reached a practically unlimite
extent. He showed that up to tn
1 twelfth century the practice OF medi
cine had been confined to the cerg,
who were supposed to heal bodies a
we'll as souls. The first to practic
surgery as a distinct occupation wer
BARRIERS about the year 1853. The mos
tremendous strides in surgery, though
had been made within the recollectio,
/ of those present.
a. After brief reference to the dis
coveries Of anesthesia and antisepsis
DIR. Carmalt devoted the remainder O
Importance of a thorough understan nd
4 ing of pathological anatomy as
formation to the practice OF surger,
He laid great emphasis on the fac
that SO many hospitals spend thou
sands of dollars on the operatin
room, whereas the pathological labora
tories are sadly neglected.
FIe urged an Improvement in thi
!. lamentable state OF affairs. ETe the,
dwet at some length on the progress
of surgery Of the thyroid gland an
the probable, though yet uncertain
value OF the surgical treatment of pul
monary tuberculosis.
! Some Neminisccnccs.
! DR.. Carmalt was roundly applaude,
!, at the end of his able address. III
! then introduced DR., ]. Ewing. Mears, o
Philadelphia, who spoke on "Reminis
cences Of the Early Days of the Ameri
can Surgical Association" DR. Near
Is one OF the few living charter mem
bers OF the body and his interesting
) paper was listened to with closest at
, tention, He said that DR.. John Collin
Continued on Fourth Page.)
I. WEATHER.