Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1909-04-22
NEW KIND OF SURGERY
High Pressure Air Apparatus
Used In Thorax Operation.
KEPT E0YS LUNGS INFLATED.

Device, First Time Used In the United
States. Is Expected to Open New
Field In Operations For tuberculosis
and Other Pulmonary Troubles.
The first operation in the United
States upon human being in which
the cavity OF the thorax WAS opened
while the lungs were inflated from
chamber containing air at a greater
pressure than that OF the atmosphere
was performed recently at the Ger
man hospital, Seventy seventh street
and Park avenue. New York, by DR..
Willy Meyer. That institution has
been the first hospital to be equipped
with the new positive air pressure ap-
paratus. The operation upon little
boy for empyema thus far is deemed
to have been successful. The pa
TENTS condition has been satisfactory,
since the operation.
1t is believed that the use of this
apparatus will open up wide field in
surgery of the thorax. Up to this
time many operations in the thorax.
have been difficult TO perform and 9th
ers impossible. owing to the fact that
as soon as the cavity of the thorax
was opened the atmospheric pressure
collapsed the lungs and breathing
stopped.
The apparatus used, which IS after
the models of Professor Sauerbruch
to degree, consists of two chambers
with door between the chambers
and doe from the smaller chamber
to the outer air. The chambers are
lined with rubber. To them run air
pipes and valves from compressor
run by motor.
The operating table is arranged so
that the patient lies outside the main
chamber with his head within It, Rub
ber about the neck of the patient
keeps the air within the chamber from
escaping The front of the larger
chamber is of glass, which allows the
surgeons to see within It. Within the
larger chamber when an operation Is
performed are two anaesthetists, who
administer the ether. The smaller
chamber is for their convenience.
The air pressure within 1t Is the same
as that within the larger chamber and
permits them to leave the patient and
return without changing the pressure
In the operation at the German hos
pital the pressure was increased very
gradually until It was deemed at the
proper degree for the operation. Then
the cavity of the thorax was opened
While the lungs were inflated and res
plration was going on from the com
pressed air chamber DR.. Meyer and his
assistants were working in the open
air, After the cavity of the thoraE
had been opened it was found that one
! lung was compressed. With the re-
moval of the matter which was the OBJ
! ject of the operation the lung expand
| ed at once and It's use in respiration
returned.
! This. it was said, was unusual, for
without the use of the positive pres
sure apparatus it would have been
weeks or months before the lung would
have dilated sufficiently. In this way
a gain was made In the convalescence
of the patient. 1t was said that the
little boy recently operated on would
be out in less than a month
and its methods will be applied in the
near future to other operations In
| which the thoracic cavity is opened.
For instance, there is carcinoma Of the
oesophagus.
Prior TO the existence of the positive
| air pressure apparatus 1t was impossi-
| Bile to operate for this disease. The
) operation, however, TO relieve this has
: been performed successfully in Europe
with the use of the apparatus It was
thought. too, that the new apparatus
might lead to important results in tu-
berculosls. 1t was said that certain
! parts of the lungs could he cut away.
since the apparatus would keep the
lungs inflated with every respiration
while the surgeons worked in ordinary
atmospheric pressure.
The Father Pipefsh.
"The best Of fathers is the pipefish, -
said an angler. "He matches the little
| pipetish. and after they are hatched
he carries them about with him tiH
they can take care Of themselves.
This fish has under his tai! sac.
In it he bears the pipefish spawn
Thus the spawn hatch in perfect
safety They are not decimated. like
the other fish spawn lying unprotected
| on the bottom of the sea, 10y every
| hungry pHSserby. No; they all hatch,
every one of them.
AS soon as they hatch the father fish
splits. or nature splits for him. the
! sac. ard al the little fish drop out into
the sea, hut they cling to papa. Wher
ever he goes, Ike gray cloud those
! thousands of tiny sons and daughters
| surround him. and on the approach Of
danger they pop back again into the
sac just as baby kangaroos pop into
the sac, or marsupial pouch, of their
mamma.
THE male pipefsh is, in fact, the
female kangaroo of the sea"
49,, . s-rv,,