Year: 1879

The physicians of this city are very deeply
interested in the treatment of man whose
heart has in some way been shifted from it's
natural place to his right side, and has been
doing duty in an inadequate fashion in this
novel location for two years past. The pa
tient is Lathrop G. Warford,a native of West
Troy, who was forced to give up his place as
cashier in French's hotel two years ago on
account of his malady. His first seizure, and
the first serious illness of his life, began
early in the winter of 1877. He contracted
very severe cold, which baffled medical
skill, and must have been pleuritio. The
cold ran its course with great violence, and
the physicians agreed that the patient was
we'll advanced in the first stage of rapid
consumption. Late in the spring of 1877
Warford had become emaciated to skele-
ton, and so weak that he was sent home to
die.


In West Troy he put himself under the
care of physician, who was at loss to ac-
count for the absence of some of the most
characteristic symptoms of consumption, and
made thorough sounding of the chest of
his patient. He soon found that the left
lung withered that it performed no
functions whatever; but, singular to say, he
could find no disease therein to account for
its atrophied state. He was dumbfounded
when, extending his auscultation to
the right side, he found the heart
of his patient beating there quite reg
ularly, and with all the strength that
was to be expected from person as weak as
he was. Warford himself was ignorant of
the change in the location of his life-pump.
He was of such robust constitution that his
attention had not been called to it by any
morbid symptoms, but when he had last felt
for it he found it in its right place. This
was proof enough that the displacement had
been forcible, and not congenital, so the doc
tor set about finding the cause.


Dropsy of the thorax sometimes pro-
duces displacement of that organ, but no
recorded case told of any such radical change
of location. Many of the ,nost character
physicians in consultation finally agreed that
Warford's disease was dropsy, and located
| the spot where the dropsical effusion was
poured into the thoracic cavity. But
Warfo1d was so far gone that they did
not think he could bear the knife. IN
expectedly he rallied, and one day they
! to operate. The primary incision, about
eight inches from the spine, between the
fifth and sixth ribs Of the left side, fortu-
nately struck the very center of the deceased
portion. Through rubber tube, in five
minutes, nearly gallon of purulent serous
matter was drawn off. For month after
this Warford improved, but then he began
to sink again. Six weeks after the first tap
ping the operation was repeated, and seven
pints of matter were removed. Then his
Improvement was so rapid that for
the first time his physicians began to


think of permanently curing him. He has
now been tapped six times, and thirty nine


pints of the dropsical matter have been
drawn off The last tapping was done three
months ago. aud his physicians hope that
another will not be needed for three months


to come. The patient is SO much better


that he has returned to this city, and is


about to engage in active business again.
Whenever it shall be necessary to


pump him out again, his physicians


intend to try to introduce active in


dammation in the diseased parts, hoping


thereby to cure it up radically. There Is nc


active disease in the atrophied lung which
i exhibits some signs of returning activity
+ Should it become inflated again and go t.


work, they hope that the heart may be in


duced to return to its normal place.


/ Tue only recorded case at oil similar wa


described in the English medical journals


short time ago. The patient in that case wa


contortionist who managed to displace th


organ once loo often. His natural constitu


ton was inferior to Warford's and he died
1 &