New-York tribune., 1910-08-13
NO DANGER FROM BULLET
Army and Navy Surgeons OpIn-
ions Coincide on Mayors Wound.
NO NOT EXPECT INFECTION
Believe Heat of Discharge OF
Revolver Cleansed Missile
of Ali Impurities.

when asked yesterday afternoon by
Tribune reporter about the surgical as
poets of Mayor Gaynor's wound Medical
Inspector Edward II. Green, in charge OF
the Naval Hospital. in Flushing avenue,
Brooklyn. said
THE doctors who have charge OF the
case know at first hand what they nave 20
deal with / know nothing about II, except
what have read in the papers. AS gen
era thing wound of this sort should
not develop anything serious. The loca-
ton of the bullet according 20 the de-
=criptions given Is In the roof OF ne
pharynx. lust back of the soft palate anu
that is far enough away from the brain 10
prevent an operation being dangerous, al
though of course, il would be very dell
cate one
Asked as TO how such an operation "oui6
/ best be performed he said that II "ouio
seem that the patients mouth shoulo pc
opened as wide as possible. Then, with
the tract where the bullet IS situated H.
( Illuminated by surgeons electric light IL
would be a comparatively simple matter
| to make the necessary incision and get the
! bullet
How about danger from blood poison
/ ing or gangrene from allowing the oni'e'
! to remain where II is?'' was asked
There is little danger from that now. SO
far as 7 have read" was the reply gu
| see" continued the doctor. the uSuai
/ danger period. from tverty-four to forty
/ eight hours, has passed, and as there are
no signs of II nov there are not likely 10
/ be any. A bullet placed as that is may
1 form little cyst or meu1braneous pocee'
/ for Itself and stay where II Is lnoeuni'eiS
without interfering with any OF the tunc-
tions of the throat or mouth
There have been many cases Of the sort
/ recorded In the naval records, as well az
! those of the army
To the question as 70 whether mtectioh'
or blood poisoning was likely from tne
condition of the bullet as described III the
/ papers, the doctor said:
No there is no danger to be appre-
hended from that source that L can see
The heat given to a bullet by its discharge
/ from revolver or rife IS. as rule, SUI
flcient to destroy any germs which might
be attached to X. and If, as has been toiu,
1t passed through the sleeve or MI Ed-
wards's coat before il reached the Mayor
il is likely that whatever impurities may
have been on its surface were pretty we'll
| cleaned off. I do not see, from what L
have read, any reason why a man OF the
good physical condition the Mayor IS said
to have been in should not recover readily
from the wound, if It is as the newspapers
have described it. and I am very glad TO
learn that he is improving steadily
Major Ebert Z. Persons, acting chief
surgeon of the Department OF the East.
on duty at Governors Island, when asked
Yesterday to give his opinion of q hypo-
I 0F In IN IL
liar way as Mayor Gaynor, said:
From the reports Of the Mayors injury
which I have read IN the newspapers and
from what I have heard I do not think
that a wound Of that sort should neccssar1-
IL be fatal OF course, there are many
points bearing on such a wound that I
! could not give a positive opinion offhand.
I The surgeons in charge Of the Mayor in his
! illness know all about those matters
IN Manila I have seen men recover from
the most serious kinds of bullet wounds.
The possibility of the bullet being infected
because of verdigris is not TO be consd-
cred. I am also of the opinion that the
! heat caused by the passage of bullet
through gun barrel would make II antisep-
tic It is true that bullets have remained
In wounds for long periods without causing
Infection Most OF the ammunition used IN
warfare, becomes unclean. or q least. medi-
caIIy so. during q campaign. but there have
been no serious results from that source
that can think of Just now.
In my opinion the infection is usually
caused by the bullet passing through cloth
ing or equipment and bringing particles OF
II into the wound. From the reports of the
Mayors condition [ have every hope for his
recovery An operation for the removal Of
bullet from position III the vault of the
pharnyx, such as you describe, would not.