The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1910-02-09
ELECTRICITY FOR
USE IN SURGERY
How It Nay Replace Ether as
an ARaeSthetiC.
SUCCESSFUL TESTS MADE.

According to Investigations In Phila-
deIphia and Abroad, Surgery, Long
Hampered by Fear of Effect of Drugs
on the Heart, Is Promised Wide Scope
by the Discovery.
Years of investigation by noted sur
geons for a perfect anaesthetic which
would have no detrimental effect on
the heart or other vital organs of the
patient have apparently been reward
ed. Electricity has come to the relief
of the surgeon, and Investigations go
ing on in Philadelphia and abroad, just
made public, show that electricity is
far superior to any of the drugs new
used to produce analgesla.
This discovery, if confirmed by FL
ture Investigations, as is confidently
expected. will mean a revolution of
modern methods of surgery. Persons
suffering from diseases that call for
operations, but who cannot get relief
through danger of death if put unde"
ether or chloroform, can be cured, for
electricity when used as an anaes
thetic has no bad effect on the heart.
1t produces a state OF lnsensibility
by acting on the nerve centers Of the
brain that is called electric Sleep
The sleep is not fatal. and when the
electric current is opened the influence
Is Immediately lost and the patient be-
comes conscious without feeling any of
the after effects common with drug
anaesthetics
Brings Dead to Life.
Not only has electricity been found
of service in surgical cases. but, ac-
cording to preliminary communications
recently submitted to medical journals
by leading physicians. it can be used
for resuscitating electrocuted animals.
The investigators are confident that
if this idea is developed it will be only
short time before it will be possible
to resuscitate human beings who have
been electrocuted.
TO Stcphane Leduc OF Naples the
medical profession is indebted for the
comprehensive study of electric sleep"
He has conducted numerous expert
ments on animals, most of them being
very successful. and o her investigators
are following in his footsteps.
In the United States the chief in.
veStigator in this field has been 81
woman doctor OF New York city. Or
Louise c. Robinovitch DR.. Robino.
witch has performed some OF the most
delicate operations known to surgery
with electricity as her anaesthe,l,
and has been very successful. All her
operations have been on animals. the
work being still too much in the eX-
perimentaI stage 10 be used freely on
human beings.
To Be Used In a Hospital.
Some of the operations she has sue.
cessfully performed are trepanninp
within exposure OF the brain, exposure
of the large arteries of the neck aud
operations calling for abdominal sec.
lions. She has found that electricity
can be used in operations that are
either local or internal and with equal
success
In some cases when it Is used local
ly the patient IS awake and can see
the operation, as when stovaine is
used, without experiencing any pain.
At the Philadelphia General hospital
the city will shortly procure the nee
essary apparatus to be used to produce
the electric sleep" and will conduct
series Of exhaustive investigations, Or.
Mihran Krikor Kassabian, director of
the Roentgen ray laboratory at the
Philadelphia hospital. is now engaged
on this work with DR.. Solomon Soils
Cohen.