Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-07-14

one performed in Europe some days
ago. was to inclose the radium in Il
glass tube, which was Sewed up in
the tulCor.
When the patient. who is a promi-
nent resident of WeStchester county,
y. Y, was taken To the hospital Dr.
Dic1enbach called in Dr. Helmuth
with an idea of performing an opera
ton for The removal of the tumor.
After thorough examination Or. Hell
muth found the tumor 10 be so large
and its roots TO have invaded so much
of the abdominal tissue that he re-
fused to operate.
A council was held. and 1t was de-
| cided to treat the patient with the
y ray for the purpose of preventing
the spread or growth of the tumor.
BY this method the physicians sue
ceeGed in checking the advance of the
| tumor. but after three months of the
| treatment the skin Of the patient be-
| came so irritated that the application
| Of the y rays had to he discontinued.
Another examination proved that any
| operation for the removal of the mass
would prove futile. and as heroic
attempt to save thesiffe of the patient
DR.. Dielrenbaeh proposed that the tu-
nor he exposed and that radioactive
| gelatin be injected into the diseased
| parts.
The patient was placed under the in
| fluence Of an anaesthetic and the gela-
| tin, which had been impregnated with
| S100 worth of radium. was injected in
| three places in the tumor. The in
! cisions We're drawn together with a
purse string suture and the abdomen
| was closed
When the tumor was disclosed the
| surgeons pronounced it round cell
| sarcoma. Il most malignant variety of
| tumOr, but cut off small piece of the
| mass for analysis. \ later eXamina-
ton Of this portion by Drs. HertZmann
and Kellogg. eminent Psychologists,
| confirmed the opinion of the operators.
The reaction from the operation was
unusually severe, and at times it was
| feared the patient would not rally. but
after Il few days an increase of
| strength was noted, and at the end of
| five weeks the patient was SO much
| improved in general health and the
| tumor was SO greatly reduced in size
that he was permitted to go to his
| home.
While greatly elated over the results
of their efforts. the physicians did not
| allow their enthusiasm to overcome
them. and it was only after a thor
ough examination of the patient by
/ ~. e., 4 q,
| allowed Il report on the case to be
| made public.
| This last examination revealed an
! apparently healthy condition in the af-
fected territory. Only small lump
| remains in the place of the tumor and
| this, the physicians say, retains none
| of the character Of tunlor, but is
simply nodule of scar tissue such as
remains after the healing of any mod
erately sized wound
The. efficiency of the treatment by
the radioactive gelatin lies In the
artificial irritation which 1t induces in
the tumor. says DR. Dieffenbach. Con-
traction of the tumor and change in
It's character result. The physicians
were moved to their. decision to try
the radium treatment by their observa-
lions Of the beneficial results that
have attended the treatment of super
fetal skin ulcers at the hospital by
the application Of rldium.
The method employed In this case is
declared to he superior to that In Eu-
rope. In which The radium was inclosed
I in a glass tube. In the latter case
$500 worth Of radium is reported to