Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-02-26
WONDERS OF MODERN SURGERY
Interesting Talk by DR.. J. b.
Wheeler at Luncheon.
the Last Hundred Years Out
lined and Some Discoveries
Enumerated by Surgeon. -.

made IN thiS city was ueilNeTcu at tne
Merchants association luncheon Thurs
day by DR.. John b. Wheeler. The subject
was Modern Progress in Surgery and
| in the development of this theme DR.
Wheeler opened up a wonderland to the
view of the uninitiated.
Beginning with the statement ot a fa-
nous French surgeon a hundred years
| ago that the art of surgery had reached
such n stage of perfection that II could
not he expected to so any farther, Dr.
| Wheeler explained step by step some of
the advances which have actually come
All this was done with the simplicity
which comes only from the mastery of a
| subject, while the audience sat on the
! edges of their chairs to catch every word
| The condition Of surgery hundred
years ago was outlined Amputations and
the removal of some external growths
and In extreme cases the removal of a
bone pressure on the brain were about all
that could be done then. And in the case
Of these operations the chances of death
from infection or blood poisoning were
great. These operations were performed
without anaesthctics while tho patient
suffered unmaginable agony.
DR. Wheeler next told Of the discovery
of anacsthcsia. This advance came in the
fortes. eliminating In the demonstration
of the use of ether by Boston dentist,
DR. w. T. G. Morton, in 1Sia Or. Morton
administered the anaesthesia while DR..
Warren removed tumor successfully
from mans neck. Soon after the use of
lchloroform was discovered by medical
student in England, and has since been
the faVorite anaesthetic there and on the
continent of Europe.
The discovery of anaesthesia made op-
erations without pain possible, and so en-
couraged more people to submit to sur
gerry. 1t did not make the operations SO
very much more successful. Infection
still set in, almost as matter of course.
Indeed it believed that certain
amount of pus of the right kind must be
discharged by a sore for it to heal prop
l erly.
In 1869 came the discovery, made by 10
seph Lister, that the modification Of
wounds was due to microscopic organisms.
Pasteur had already shown that the putre-
faction Of dead tissue was due not to the
faction Of oxygen, as had been supposed
but to micro organisms. Lister guessed
that this might also be the case with
wounds and looked about for something
which would destroy the microscopic Nv
ing things without destroying the patient
at the same time. 1t was found that a
solution of carbOlic acid. something be-
tween one to twenty and one to sixty OF
eighty would accomplish the desired re-
suit. This was tremendous advance II
surgery.
But even the antiseptic treatment OF
wounds did not complete the story of rad.
zeal progress. After the antiseptic ac
compartment to surgery had been in use
surgeons found that the antseptic solu
ton hurt the tissue to some extent. Their
came the aseptic method. which is fol
lowed to-day except in cases where tn,
wound is already infected.
| The aSeptic method differs from the an
, tiseptic treatment in that, instead of kill
Ing the germs after allowing them to ge
Unto the wound they are kept from get
ting in. Everything which comes in con
tact with the wound and everything from
which Infection could possibly come 4
sterllized.
The aseptic method makes it possible t,
enter the cavities of the body and worl
= the wonders which are now accomplished
every day. Before this discovery thi
had been impossible. The membrane oil
: the interior of the body is so sensitive tina
: the antseptic treatment would almos
I certainly have caused fatal nhamma
ton.
e DIR. Wheeler went on to tell of some o
Y the operations which are performed now
by which the surgeon goes to the YER
t centre of the body or the head of a pa
:. ttent and makes the man over. The mir
: acles are accomplished partly by the bet
! ter understanding of the meaning o
!; symptoms from which the cause OF tn
= trouble can be located
1t was in 1896 that the old aiment know
as Inflammation Of the bowels was dis
( covered to be due to appendicitis. Fror
this anne the best known of the majo
operations.
DR.. Wheeler spoke in outline of tn
treatment of tuberculosis of the bone, O
u cancers, and tumors, and of the opera
l. tons by which now surgeons even go int
L the body and sew up a small wound G
n the heart before death has resulted.
d He also spoke of the help which surger
C has received from the X-Ray which Is c
immense value in diagnosing cases and c
l. use in superficial cases of cancer. In thes
It latter cases radium is also of value, a
|, though it has not yet been givor YER
Il thorough trial.