Evening star., 1918-02-24
URGERY had attained not few
notable achievements before the
great war. Certain celebrated
surgical cases were discussed as


~ great war. Certain celebrated
W surgical cases were discussed as
remarkable, not only among members
of the medical profession, but among
many of the laity also. Since the out
break of the world hostilities the emf
nent leaders of surgery have had end
less opportunities to exercise their skill.
and results have been noteworthy in
deed.
Progress had been their watchword.
Improvement has been SO rapid and ad-
vancement has been so continuous that
the suffering peoples of the earth gaze
hopefully upon one great good CLEANED
from the wreckage of war-a trium-
phant surgery.
Several decades ago had men entered
a vast conflict of such savagery and
subjected themselves so reckiessly to
the perils of death dealing shrapnel
and high explosives, the probabilities
are that those who came under the sur
geon's knife would not have left the
hospital as perfectly patched up" as
they do now.
Particularly is this true of patients
with head wounds. Brain surgery has
become an art. Surgeons who wish to
perform operations of this nature at
the front are first requested to thor
oughly prepare themselves, to famil-
iarize themselves with the latest meth
ods by specializing some months at an
accredited school. After q period of in
tense study they are permitted to take
their places in Europe with medical
units, where they undertake their diff
ficult, delicate mission.
The medical divisions of all war de-
partments are extremely. wary about
giving out the most casual figures. The
enemy has a disconcerting way of US
ing figures to his own advantage. In
1915, however, it was estimated that
some eighty thousand odd surgeons
ministered directly to the allied. cause.
working on a battle front extending no
miles. In spite of surgeons killed and
wounded there is no doubt but that
this number has increased, and of these
Just how many are brain surgeons it is
impossible to say. The United States
Army has surgeon with each one Of
its divisions.
All men who are wounded on the bat
tlefield are given every consideration to
sible. AS head wounds are known to
carry with them special dangers great
effort is made to rush such cases. Ply
sicians advise moving this class of
patients to the base hospitals, detain-
ing them long enough to remove only
the eXtraneous matter which can be
easily and quickly dislodged. BY far
the largest number of patients who are
operated upon for, head wounds re-
cover.
Although. becausetof the trench war
fare head wounds are much more COM
mon than in other wars, the introduce
ton of the steel helmet decreased the
number very materially. All new SOL
diers are repeatedly cautioned to keep
on the steel helmet even though it is
II first burden some to those who are
wholly unaccuSt"rr'etl to it's weight
Not infreuuentlv the most innocent.
looking head wounds are treacherous,
and surgeons have come to regard these
gravely. The N-ray is resorted to in
many cases, but. oddly enough. even
the X-ray fails to photograph correctly
every time.
Sometimes it is extremely difficult to
distinguish between lead and pieces of
shell, between missiles and bits of bone
which have embedded themselves in
such way as to seem to stand on
edge. To distinguish accurately be-
tween lead and shell fragments is i'm
portant. The latter can be success
fully removed by employing a strong
magnet, which has no effect whatever
on lead Shadows cast by blood vessels
also cause some confusion, for on a
Photographic plate they bear a striking
resemblance to fractures
Wide gaps in broken skulls are skill
fully mended by means of silver plates.
These are rolled thinner than a visit
ing card, so thin that they can easily
be adapted to the curve of the skull.
holes This greatly lightens the weight
of the plate and SO affords the patient
no discomfort
Jagged fragments Of bone are some.