Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-04
WONDERFUL OPERATION.
Lasted Five Years and Gave Girl q
 Lip and a Palate,

When Bertha StubloW was borr five years ago she was without ar upper lip, roof to her mouth or 8 palate. To-day she is almost perfect in all three. This is the result oi one of the most remarkable surgica feats yet performed on the Pacific coast The man who did the work is J. M. Meyer, D. D. S., oral sur. geon to the North Pacific College oi Dentistry, Portland.
 Yesterday the operation began five years ago was completed. The patient is the daughter of MT and Mrs A. Stublow of Sumner, Wash She was born with the worst form of what is known as harelip and cleft palate.
 The upper lip was divided by two Assures that were continuous with the openings into the nose. The up per jaw bones were in three separate pieces. One, known as the inter- maxiliary portion, was connected with the nasal septum, the other two forming a right and left ridge, with a chasm between them one-half inch wide. Mouth and nasal chambers were one-in other words, there was no roof to the mouth or hard palate. The final complication was the ah- sence of soft palate or yellum.
 The unfortunate individual so born must be fed with a spoon to be kept from starvation, suction aud swallowing being out of the ques- ton as no vacuum can be produced in the mouth. As age advances the deformity of the bones and external face becomes more marked; the child cannot learn to talk, but maj es sounds only understood to those we'll acquainted with their meaning.
 A combination of difficult opera tions has made it possible in t.lis great physical defect to restore facial appearance and perfect speech. The first operation was performed when the child was three months old. At this tender age she lay on the oper- ating table under the influence of chloroform for two hours. This stage of the operation has for its object the approximation of the sep arated upper jawbone, known as the Brophy operation. In two weeks the union of the dental arch was per feet.
 The second operation vas per formed one year later. The lip de- feet was so successfully overcome that to-day close inspection is neces- sary to detect even the trace of 2 scar. The third stage of the work, the difficult operation of restoring the soft palate. was undertaken, and success achieved when the patient was 3 years old. This operation, known as "staphylorraphy," was ac- complished by the method described by Prof Garretson.
 December 4. this year. this vet eran little patient was put upon the operating table for the final ordeal. The soft parts covering the roof of the mouth were detached, trimmed and replaced with stitches to give the proper curvature of the vault and close the remaining Assure comnu- nicating with the nose Ten days later the wire supports were re- moved.
 A lecture dealing with this case was recently delivered at the surgi- cal clinic. The child was inspected. talked with and congratulated. Her case will stand as an achievement If plastic surgery of the Pacific coast. To-day the little girl is without facial disagreement, and can eat. drink and talk almost as we'll as any other year old child. As she grows to womanhOod even these slight defects will disappear.-Port- land OregOnian.