Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1908-02-25
ARTERY SHIFTING
SURGICAL
TRIUMPH
Professor Flexner Transplaals
Blood Channels OF Animals
Amazing Future Seen Thou
sands of Human Lives May be
Saved Through Initiative OF a
Rockefeller Professor.

After two years of experiment and
exhaustive study, Professor Simon
| Flexner, head of the Rockefeller In
stitu,e for Medical Research in New
York City, has succeeded in trans
planting arteries from one animal to
another successfully. writes the Chi
cago correspondent of the New York
Press. That fact has been revealed
in a paper just read before the Ply
si0lpgical Section of the American
Association for the Advancement of
Science i.i the University of Chicago.
1t is the first time in the history of
the world, surgeons assert, that so
difficult feat of surgery has been
accomplished Whether the surgical
innovation will be perfected to such
a degree that it can be applied to
the treatment of aneurism and other
arterial diseases still is an open ques-
ton. That, however, is the end
aimed at by Professor Flexner and his
assistants in the Rockefeller insti-
tute. 1t is admitted it is a long cry
between performing such an opera
ton successfully on an animal and
performing it on human being, blu.
surgeons are hopeful. The under
standing here is that John D. Rookie.
Teller, founder of the institute. has
been keeping in close touch with the
experiments and is delighted because
of their success
Great Saving of Lives.
1t Is admitted or all sides that If
the experiments should be extended
to men and women with the same
success that has attended those made
on animals, thousands of lives VIII
be saved annually in all sections of
the world. Aneurism, for instance,
will lose its terrors, and SO will many
ether diseases of the arteries which
now are regarded as practically in
durable. Aneurism is a localized di.
lation of an artery due to pressure
OF blood acting on part of the art
cry weakened by accident or by dis
ease.
A patient afflicted with this break
ing down of the walls of the artery
simply would have to go to hos
pital, get on the operating table, and
the surgeons would cut out the dis
eased section of the artery and splice
length and diameter taken from an
animal. Nobody denies that would
be hard on the animal, but it would
enjoy the distinction of having died
to save human life
There are optimists who assert a
somewhat similar process could be
applied to the lungs, liver, kidneys
and other parts of the body, substitute
ing healthy animal tissue for un-
healthy human tissue. The profess
sors in the institute make no such
assertions. They rest upon the plain
statement that they have demonstrate
ed 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.
Text Not Made Public.
to Chicago to read his paper on Ten.
denotes in Pathology" which contain
ed announcement of his great surgical
discovery. He sent it to Professor
Ludwig Hegtben, who read it. Pend
ing it's appearance in the medical
journals, the university officials refuse
to make the text public. 1t is known,
however, that Professor Flexner pre-
pared it with great care, SO no ex-
travagant claims would be made
which might bring ridicule upon the
institute. He would not even asser,
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. Experiments
were made on several kinds of beasts.
Most of them were small, including
rats, mice, guinea pigs and rabbits.
Incidentally, Professor Flexner and
his assistants discovered, in their art
ery-splicing tests, important things
in relation to biological conditions Of
tumor growth. The paper, which pre-.
saged such far-reaching effect on pa
biological problems, has attracted
much attention here.
Boon for Tumor Sufferers.
Take tumor, for instance, from the
L. f,ax Vic
ing 1t as a layman would, one surgeon
said, "and it will be seen at orce
what a successful extension Of the,
transplanting of arteries to human
beings would mean. There are thou.
sands of persons who are suffering
from tumors which cannot be remov-
ed because they have formed them.
selves about arteries, the removal OF
which would spell death
Under this Flexner plan surgeon
would be able to cut out both the
tumor and the part of the artery en-
cased in the growth and then fill in
the arterial gap with a section OF
artery taken from an animal. In a
few weeks the artery would be per-
forming its function as usual and
the patient would be convalescent. 1t |
is not enough, however, to demon,
strate that the artery Of an animal !
can be transplanted to a man or a
woman Experiment must show that
the section transplanted will serve
its purpose as long as the sections Of
the artery not transplanted, and not
withstand the blood pressure oaly
for a few weeks or a few months"
WnI VEG HnME INTO