The Sunday telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1914-1927, 1916-02-13
HOLE IN MANS
HEART SEWED
UP By DOCTOR.
WouId.Be Suicide Apparently
LifeIess When Physician
Arrived.

hIlNNCN ilDlIIl, NV, FcU. 1S.-ESoi
II. Fisk, OF Helena. Mont. who shot
himself through the heart here De-
cember g. still lives and is in fair
way toward recovery. His life was
saved by an operation performed by
DR.. George A. Still, who says he took
hold OF Flsk's heart, through which
the bullet had passed, and by twist
ing the tissue Of II with his thumb
and forefnger plugged the hole and
stopped the flow OF blood. DR.. Still
says the heart had ceased to beat and
the man was apparently dead.
Fisk shot himself in his room short
~ tefore p. IN. He was carried into
tho operating room at l:20 O'Clock.
Examination showed a bullet wound
directly above the heart. The fol-
lowing account OF what was done was
dictated by DR.. Still.
THE shirt and undershlrt we're cut
away from the chest and the skin i'm
mediately sterilized with pure car
bolic acid washed off with wood alco-
hol. The patient gasped few times
after being laid on the table. but ap-
pa-ently was dead. No pulse could
be felt either in the wrist or neck.
Thought No Use Operating.
81 made the remark that there was
not much use operating on a corpse
and then added that he wouldn't be
any deader II we had good look at
the wound inside. Immediately
opened the chest between the fourth
aLd fifth ribs for about four inches,
the bullet hole being in the middle Of
the wound, which was in the inter-
costal space below the rib near the
nipple. a little inside. The wound ex-
posed hole in the perlcardium. that
vas dlstended with blood / split the
rericardium and let out lot OF blood
clot. This exposed the hole in the
tcart.
'The instant I took hold of the
heart ii again began to beat. With
my index finger / twisted the tissue
Of the heart wall so as 10 plug the
hole in the heart, then removed the
remaining clots in the heart sac or
pericardium.
rlUii. tnt. on 'he puise picheu up
put al 'iie ,iile was Semins ny .ie
administering n gallon OF normal salt
solutiom, III ulu NOT REGAIN conscious
ness. INC Norl,lal sal. sola'lon was 10
replace tiic iost pioou anu co'iii'ciae'
.tIo did mot roeo;r corscio,snoss
mill son,n iimo o,tor bo bod boon in
nod ond - WOE two or throo dovs ho.
tora ho ros to,a,1v r,tion,I ' "
"Tho n,,Iso stoad;,y ;,nnrorod ,rt;,
,ytor about tbroo dave n wos normol
ua ron littio ,ouay dmrin@ tho srst
weot uis ,emrorotnro wos ,ractic,I
w Normal ,or no nert two weoL. and
m ~ Decnnhor o. bo loft tho hosnitai
all right
RuIIpt LATER Romovod
mr,o I'll, ,..h;oh No., 80 .,,uo
-, ~ Du'.T'' 49, -, nau ~, sone W, ousn
dor tho sEin hotween tbc tenth and
eleyontb ,Jhr m tho right eide was
noremher 81 II wac nersoct
lv shaned The end n, If showed the
innrirt ~ h;s shirt wborO - otr,,oL
before entorino the hodv Tho s;des
showed tbo morLs ~ tbo rovoiHor
rif,inss Iihod n,issod tbo r;hs .o,ne
in and sbowed M hone mnrts II
nrst have travarsod lin M tho lrng
the heart and the liver.
az, uor, tb-ougb tho boort ,oor
tho center II must have boroIv
n,i.sod tho ,,reest voin IN The hody
the vena cora and a littlo ,arthar ~
tho ripht would have caught tho thin