Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-12-29
OPENS A new ERA
Professor Jonnesco Exploiting
Stovaine in Effort to Lessen
Human Suffering.
PATIENT IS UNCONSCIOUS
Bucharest Surgeon to Demonstrate
in United States Use of New
Anaesthetic.

Professor Thomas Jonnesco, head of
the University Of Bucharest Medical
school, in Roumania, who recently ar
rived at New York to demonstrate to
eminent surgeons in the United States
how mixture of neutral sulphate of
strychnine and stovaine injected into
patient about TO be operated on will
produce a perfect anaIgesia. or insensi-
bility to pain. without any of the bad
effects OF the anaesthetics generally
used in surgical operations, says be
has nothing to sell. His only aim is
that of humanitarian who wishes to
Increase as far as possible the use Of
painless surgery throughout the world.
His new analgesfa producing mixture
has been used by several eminent sur
geons in Europe recently to good eff
feet
Professor JOnnesco lays no claim to
the discovery of stOvaine. for it was
in use long before he, as head Of the
medical school of the University of
Bucharest, began to experiment with
the effects of the analgesia. He says.
however, that stovaine can be used
to produce analgesia successfully only
on lower parts of the body where OPP
erations are TO be performed. Its use
alone in the upper parts of the body
has been attended with dire results.
But by mixing the neutral sulphate
of strychnine the stovaine can be used
for producing an utter lack of feeling
in any part of the body.
Patient Not Deprived of Consciousness.
Under his new method, says Profess
or Jonnesco. IL patient can undergo
the most difficult operation and remain
perfectly conscious throughout for the
effect produced by the mixture OF
strychnine and stovaine does not de-
prive the patient of consciousness. 1t
simply dcadens the pain.
1t is said by those who have wit
messed his operations abroad that d
patient to whom the stovaine and
strychnine have been administered can
and does chat with the surgeon while
the knife is being used in an extreme
~ delicate operation. In the case of
a sailor who was operated on abroad
DIR. Jonnesco inserted hypodermic
needle into the spinal canal between
two of the vertebrate at the base of /
the neck. He injected three cent? /
gra ms of the mixture dissolved in wa
ter few minutes later the patient /.
was placed on an operating table, and
his shoulders were lowered so that the .
fluid could past upward. The /
operation to be performed on the sailor
was the removal of tubercular glands /
from his neck Two minutes after the !
fluid had a chance to spread the OPP,
Grafton was begun.
No Pain From Knife Thrust.
When the knife was applied the |
sailor was asked if he felt any pain.
NO" replied the man. Even then
the surgeons knife was deep in his
neck.
Are you quite comfortable" asked
one of the surgeons.
Yes. quite. thank you" replied the
patient.
Professor Jonnesco told of this oper-
alton through an interpreter One of
his fellow countrymen, George Soutzo,
acted as the interpreter. for Professor
Jonnesco speaks no English.
This sailor, who was about twenty
two years old. talked all the way
through the operation" said Professor
Jonnesco. Moreover. he walked away
from his operating table after it was
all over Another operation which was
performed was on an
freshman forty-seven years old. who
had cancer of the stomach. He was
not so active as the sailor after the
operation. but both were successful.
The complete quietude of both during
the operation was proof that they ex-
oerienced no PAIN,
Professor JonneSco said that his Wis
t to the United States was only to
give Americans the benefit Of his dis
,overy free of charge.
To Lessen Pain His Only Reward.
"Some $50 patients have undergone
operations by %he new method since
is discovery in 19OS,'' said the pro-
lessor My reward for the discovery
s only this-to lessen pain and suffer
ng In the human family. 1t is quite
,nough reward. Once my method In
Idopted here In America it will be
Ldopted by the whole world, for this
s the country in which great achieve
nents in the surgical and medical
world are sent broadcast and are given
iced to by surgeons throughout the
world"
Professor Jonnesco is on a three
months vacation and has many en-
throughout the United
states.