The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-06-10
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIE, Director.
Washington, D. G.
THE CITY OF DOCTORS.

tor In all his numerous FERNS and !
activities, Baltimore offers perhaps |
the best field in America. Not only
are there somewhat mere doctors here
than in any other American city OF
like size, but there are more different
kinds of doctors. The modern ten
dency toward specialization, which is
steadily narrowing the field of the
oId-fashioned general practitioner, is
here seen at it's best. And here too
is found a its best the modern organ
ization of doctors, which supplants the
old-tine doctor with his little bag of
pills and instrum ents by large plant
with expensive equipment and elabof-
ate personnel.
The chief reason for this gathering
of advanced medical men is the pres
ence of Johns Hopkins university,
which is not only one of the largest
medical schools in the country, but
has the reputation of harboring more
of the genuine spirit of scientific in
quiry and less of the mere comm erelal
intent than any of the others. In
stead of manufa curing so many gen
eraI practitioners a year, and scatter
| ing them over the country, Johns
Hopkins produces chiefly specialists
and research men, and a great many
of these choose to remain here so as
to keen in touch with the best of
medical thought and facility. The
patients come to them from all parts
| of the country. Hardly a thru train
stops here without letting off few
sufferers, usually some of them on
stretehers. Baltimore's reputation as
place of last resort for the afflicted
is steadily growing. They come mere
even from New York and Philadel-
phia For one thing. the services OF
| specialists here is to be had for less
money than in the greater cities, ana
for another thing. there is closer CO.
operation between the Baltimore doc
IL n
ization about Johns Hopkins.
Advance of Surgery.
The city is especially famous for its
surgery, and the science of preparing
the patient for the operation has been
carried to very high development The
administering of anesthetfcs has be
come a speciality to which many men
| devote themselves exclusively. 1t is
more and more realized that the Civ
ing of anesthetics is a serious matter,
and the tendency is to use as little OF
the drug as possible and still keep the
patient out of pain. Local anesthesia
is used more and more. 1t has been
discovered by Grille that If local
anesthetic like novocaine is applied, so
that no pain-shock reaches the brain,
even tho the patient is conscious there
is no bad after effect, while if the
patient is made wholly unconscious
nevertheless show all the effects of
shock upon awakening. In the case of
a weak patient, this effect of shock
is an important factor. Therefore the
best practice is to use both the local
and the general anesthetics, and as
little as possible of the latter.
A modern operation is harrow
ing spectacle to a layman. because
often not enough of the general
anesthetic is used to keep the patient
from struggling and grooming. He
really feels nothing, hut he looks and
sounds like a man in agony. In the
case of a large incision in the abdomen,
for example, just enough ether will be
used to keep the patient from rolling
off the table, while novocaine will be
applied to each successive layer of
tissue thru which the knife must go.
This is a slow process, but worth all
the time it takes. In many of the
internal organs. there is little or no
sensation as long as none of the ad-
jacent nerves are touched This is es-
peeially true of the brain. There is
no sensation to brain tissue. When
the surgeon has sawed open the skull
in brain operation, he often works
on that organ while the patient is
under barely enough anesthetic to keen
him still The Iayman has an ex-
aggerated notion of the vulnerability
of the brain anyway. A wound thru
the brain is seldom fatal unless one of
the great blood vessels is cut. The
patient then dies of internal hemor-
rhage. Many men shot clean thru the
, brain during the war are still living.
Mysterious Maladies.
To Baltimore come many patients
suffering from mysterious Affections
which have baffled doctors elsewhere.
Such q patient is apt to become a pill
grim going from one specialist to an
other. 1t is an expensive and discour-
| aging process, but apt to prove less ex-
/ pensive and discouraging in the long
run than endless meddling by doators
who do not know what is the matter.
Take for example the case of a wo-
man who came here suffering from
acute abdominal pains, which doctors
in other cities had been unable to ac-
count for. First the X-ray experts at
Johns Hopkins looked thru her. Some
sixteen plates were taken, but revealed
nothing. A stomach specialist was
then sought and he examined her and
proclaimed that there was nothing
7 whatever the matter with her stomach.
He suggested the appendix as the
probable cause of the trouble.
But that is below my jurisdiction"
l he explained. You will have to go
to Doctor Blank
A Case for Many Doctors.
Doctor Blank removed the appendix
on general principles, and found it
slightly swollen, but asserted that it
= could not possibly be the cause of the
intense agony which the woman was
then suffering. He advised that she
be cut open and an exploration of her
| vital organs undertaken. A leading
surgeon accordingly was called in and
performed this major operation for
the sole purpose of investigation. He
e Immediately found that one of the kid
neys was enormously swollen owing te
g growth obstructing its discharge
: The patient was now turned over tc
I yet another doctor whose speciality
= was the draining of such INSTRUCTED
. organs. The kidney was drained, the
obstruction removed, and the woman
soon restored to health.
D Undoubtedly medicine in the future
. | will ba eVervUhare as it is 0ou hers