The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1911-08-09
DARING PIECE OF SURGERY
A MANS SHINBONE Is MADE A
PART OF A WOMAN's LEG.
Ilbia From Unclaimed Body Success
fully Grated in Remarkable OPP
Grafton by DIR. Frauentha5

chaIIoh DN Df. Frauenthai,
NEW YORK.-By grating the
shinbone of man on a woman suf-
fering from necrosis Dr.. Henry w.
Frauenthal performed an operation
new in surgery-one in which the
daring was justified by the result,
since it saved the limb.
UP to now operations of this sort
have been confined to experimental
work done on dogs by DR.. Alex CarreI
at the Rockefeller Institute. With
DR.. FrauenthaI it was a case of am
putating the diseased leg above the
knee or putting in a new tibia. 1t
was done at the hospital for deform-
tiles and joint diseases, where the
patient has been under preparatory
treatment for two months.
The first essential was to get
good healthy bone to take the place
OF the one eaten by disease. After a
time one of the hospitals which han
die emergency cases reported that a
man had been killed in an accident.
AS the body was unclaimed or would
have gone either to the potters field
or the dissecting table of some medi-
cal college requisition was made for
one of the legs, from which the tibia
was taken. 1t was kept in an ice
box immersed in a strong salt solu-
ton until the surgeon was ready to
use it,
The patient is Catherine Neary, 80
years old, who lives with her sister
in Brooklyn when she is not employ
ed as domestic. She was admitted
to the hospital for deformities, where
she still is. Her left leg from the
knee down was swollen to twice it's
normal size. She had been shifted
from four other institutions, which
found it hardship on other inmates
to keep her.
1t was necessary to isolate the pa
tient. She was getting constitutional
treatment according to the Ehrlich
formula, but the response was slow.
AS she depended upon herself for
her livelihood she begged that her
leg not be taken off. So the doctor
decided upon grating.
After she had gone under the ether
the surgeon cut away all the flesh
around the bone for a space of about
ten inches. This left exposed the
tibia and its companion bone, the
fibula, around which some flesh was
left, as the back part of the leg was
healthier than the rest.
The periosteum, which is the mem
brane protecting the bone, was care
fully cut away and then eight inches
of the bone was chiseled out. 1t
was impossible, because of it's condi-
ton, to take it out as a whole. The
top and bottom of the tibia, which
were in fair condition, were sawed
through just below the top and just
above the bottom, so as to give an
chOrage to the new bone.
This was then cut a fraction of an
inch longer than the space it was to
| fill and then wedged into position
held solidly by the pressure of either
end, both of which had been rough
ened so as to get the increased hold
! ing strength. Before it worked into
place it was necessary to hammer it
heavily.
Then the edges of the flesh were
drawn together with stitches, which
easily left a gap of an inch and a
half. Before this the wound was
covered with rubber tissue, under
which the flesh will grow. Also the
periOsteum was carefully sewed to-
| getheT to give the new bone all pos
isible support and protection while it
| &c irHr n 10 MT Of h. ~, 4
When the flesh has filled in the
opening through which the tibia
shows skin will be grated from the
hips and breast of the patient in
quantity sufficient to cover the leg
which is now raw from the ankle al
most to the knee.