The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-02-02
q HA SIX IN LETTER
Iriumphs IN Modern Surgery
BY FredeElr j Hasi.in.

| lr.'iumphs Ia N
y By Fredei
wonderful achievements in sur
gerry are being recorded daily upon
me records Of the war hospitals Of
Europe In which some OF the greatest
n surgeons Of America are giving their
\ time and talent for the alienation
OF human suffering. q \
The service FOR the wounded sol
diene calls into play the highest
medical and surgical skill because OF
h the duplicating conditions attending
each patient. Dressing fresh, clean
II wounds, even OF the severest kind, Is
comparatively simple matter. Mod
ern warfare Reproducing the worst
forms of wounds and the necessary
delay In which wounded men are
forced to wait hours or days before
being conveyed It'd. the hospitals. ag-
\ gravates them Only small per-
centage1 of them receive any sort of
first aid assistance. Dirt from con-
tact with the ground, germs from
clothing worn days OF weeks or
months Of exposure in wet trenches.
sleeping In the open without sufficii
tent covering. all combine to increase
the problems to be faced by the war
surgeon. Il a y d
Added to them Is. the horror OF te-
tanus or lockjaw. scourga in which
medical assistance has heretofore
been OF little avail. Most Of the bat
ties have been fought upon cultf-
waited lands which have been ricNs5
fertilized. Manure used in fertf-
tlizing is alive with tetanus germs.
,These germs are harmless in taken
into the mouth, but may be deadly
IL mixed with the blood. 1t has lately
been discovered that the action OF the
human stomach upon tetanus germs
produces antf-toxin which may over
come the germs In the blood. This
discovery puts the power to protect
himself within the reach OF every
soldier who will have sufficient win
power to obey instructions. The
soldiers are being directed to u suck
the blood from their wounds.at inter
yais while awaiting removal to the
hospitals. When the wound Is out
OF reach of the mouth a piece Of
cloth or cotton dipped into the blood
OF the wound and sucked will pro-
vide the blood to produce the self
made anti-toxin.
The years of peace have given
physicians and surgeons an opportu-
nifty for advanced research, which
renders them more competent to
i meet the demands Of war surgery
than ever before. The triumphs OF
modern surgery will send home the
men wounded in the present war In
q far less crippled condition thar
was produced by similar wounds in
all of the surgical records Of the
/ world The heavy endowments for
the purpose of advanced medical re-
search In American Institutions; as
We'll as the progress in treating the
persons injured in Industrial acct.
dents, is largely responsible for the
excellent work being accomplished
nowfin the war hospitals.
A few months ago, public attention
was directed to the newly discovered
method Of bone splicing used IN a
Chicago hospital. Instead OF placing
q broken bone in. splints without
j bringing the severed cells
In close connection with each other
the surgeon cuts open the flesh right
down to- the bone and inserts live
bone pegs either from the patients
own body or from live human
bone preserved for that purpose
THESE pegs go all the way into the
marrow of the bones. The cells from
the broken bone and from the peg,
unite quickly. The process is really
like stitching the broken bone to.
gether. II section Of the bone Ii
too badly crushed or broken to bt
patched together, as often happens
lin industrial accidents. the crushed
portion may be discarded. A n:ecs
of new bone the required size may
be substituted. The nerve and bone
cells of the grafted-in bone, held OF
coupled into place with live bone
, pegs. quickly unite and the result is
& greatly superior to that Of former
4 methods. The time for recovery IL
Shortened also A man with broken
leg, who would be laid UP for al
4 least two months under the Older
methods, will be able to use his in,
jured limb within four weeks aftel
/ tAo hCCluGut uuu6Tf Cue new ,DOnG,
Isplicing process.
II Under modern antiseptic treatment
the flesh wound made by cutting
down to the bone is easily healed
and the anesthetics now in use reduce
the pain to a minimum. These two
discoveries, which are being inn
proved and perfected each year, make
possible surgical operations in the
war hospitals which without Their
tcould not even be considered.
A cablegram recently received
from Paris describes the grating Of
the arm from dead soldier upor
General Trumelet Faber, whose right
forearm was torn off by a shell II
Belgium. This remarkable operation
was performed by DR.. Alexis Carroll
of the Rockefeller Institute Of New
York. It is in line with the wonder.
full work of bone and tissue trans,
planting which this distinguished
surgeon and biologist has been car.
rying on for a number Of years and