The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 22, 1898, Page 22

22 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAY 22, 1898 WONDERFUL THINGS DONE WITH AND WITHOUT A STOMACH A Woman of This City Has Her Stomach Successfully Removed, and Now Eats Three Hearty Meals a Day and Goes About Her Tasks as Usual, and They Say She Doesn’t Even Know Yet That She Has No Stomach. MRS. LORA MAGINI, San Francisco Woman Has Been Removed. | The Whose S(cmnch_: | HE story of the successful re- | moval of a woman's stomach three months ago by Dr. Brig- | ham of this city has just been published in all its details by the Boston Medical and Surgical | Journal. Outside of the removal of the stomach the most wonderful part | of the story to the mind of the ordin- ary layman will be the fact that the woman does not yet know that her stomach is removed. She eats several neals daily, goes about the house 1al, has almost recovered her full ht and says the doctor has com- | pletely cured her. Before the operation she could not retain solid food on her | Now stomach. he eats chicken, | oys- | | she is all Dr. gham followed the main lines laid down by Dr. Carl Schlatter in perform ke operation on a woman in In many particu- | ham was con- ed with ne and the re- sult of the operation shows with what 1 he met them. In speaking of the matter the editor | howeve of the Boston Medical and Surgical | in Francisco of the stomach has been st time successfully perform- | 3 As tion remov and agreed upon and the patient en- | tered St. Luke's Hospital. certainly takes rank as an operation of | the first magnitude. Dr. Brigham’s | operation differs from that performed | by Schlatter, in that he wasableto unite | the lower end of the esophagus directly | | With the cut end of the duodenum. The | good judgment of Dr. Brigham was | amply vindicated by the result. A brief | consideration will justify the deduction | that cases suited to this operation are | rare. It is certainly ~» uncommon ex- | | perience for a surgeon to meet with a | e of cancer of the stomach in as good phy 1 condition as was Dr. | righam’s case. The pale, thin, worn, | cachetic victims of t} disease are sel- dom in a condition to withstand so for- midable an operative procedure. Schlatter and Brigham have shownthat there exists a certain (probably small) proportion of cases in which resort to the most radical surgical procedure | may for a time at least rescue the pa- tient. The prolongation of life may be by no means inconsiderable. The portions of the report most in- teresting to the lay reader are as fol- low Lora Maginni, widow and housewife, | 66 years of age, had complained of pain in her stomach for the last year. She was able, however, to digest her food until Christmas time, when she vomited any solid food that she took. Not car- ing for bread and meat, she confined | herself to liquids and to thickened gruels, and so was able to keep her usual weight of 135 pounds. She did not worry about her forced abstinence from solid food, because she was un- able to chew properly, having but six teeth in the lower with no correspond- ing ones in the upper jaw. She is a remarkably healthy woman in other respects, having a strong heart d lungs and a clear complexion and a good deal of color in her cheeks, a woman of simple tastes, born in the | country, in the north of Italy; active, and a woman of good common sense. | It is a difficult thing to keep her in bed, in any ordinary illness, and she does not complain of pain, unless it is severe. I saw her first in February, 1898 She came to me for advice, on account of the pain she felt in her stomach. There | was a hardn in the pyloric region | which was painful on All | solid food was vomited after it w taken. N of the pylorus. a few weeks later an operation for the 1 of the growth was suggested | hours, On the 24th of February, 1888, Dr. Samuel Boyd assisting, strict antisepsis being observed, the patient was ether- ized. The operation occupied two hours and a quarter. There was practically no loss of blood in removing the sto- mach. The gradual improvement in the gen- erai condition of the patient and the in- crease in her appetite, notwithstanding the loss of her stomach, are set forth as follows: February 24—At noon after the opera tion, pulse 116. smperatur degr an enema of brandy and water was giver and three hours after an enema of €ggs peptonoids, milk and broth; these nutri- ent enemata were continued every The patient was very restless and An eighth of a grain of morphine was given subcutaneously, and the mouth was frequently washed out with water. The longest sleep at any time was not over an hour, but there were many short naps which refreshed the patient. February 2 — Pulse, 9. Excessive st, but no pain and ho vomiting. No 2 thirs tened. bruary 26—Pulse, 100. Claret and wa- ter, in two-drachm doses, varied occa- sionally with the same amount of hot black coffee or chicken broth were given. February 2i—Pulse, 92. Four-drachm doses of Iiquids now given. Coffee with milk and chicken broth with an egg beat in it. 28—Pulse, 92. A boiled, was relished by vho safd *“It tasted nice March 1—Patient takes six drachms of some liquid nourishment every hour, night and day. From March 2 to March 13—One or two eggs dally, broth, gruels made with and | prune juice, coffee with milk, and a tonic | in_half-ounce doses. March 13 to 16—For breakfast patient had some minced chicken, a cup of coffee, a soft-boiled egg, half a slice of toast and two ounces of water. From this time food was given at regular intervals of three hou March 17—Pulse, 106. The patient’s nourishment consisted of: Breakfast— Cup of coffee with milk. a soft-boiled egg, a third of a baked apple. Noon—A cup of green pea soup and a dozen oyster ounce of milk with somatose. A Some orange jelly, one raw egg, cup of pea soup and a dozen oyster Evening—Half- of ~asparagus soup, In the f she took four drachms of whi ter and an ounce and a half g X March 18—Pulse 92. The patfent is up in a chair daily and walks a_little in the room. In addition to two dozen o she took a part of a lamb chop and s spoonfuls of ice cream arch 19—Pulse 92. Pat on the hos- pital piazza in a roiling chair for nearly 002CQ0000CCCO00000C0000000000000000000C000C000000CCO00000C00 THIRTY YEARS OVER A S Neither Husband Nor Wife Wauld Give Up the Stubborn | Contest Till the Man Was on His Deathbed. HIRTY rels, thirty ness, thirt And all on acco nt of a kitchen do Such i Mokelumne Hill, in Calaveras and the strangest part of it all is that the two people concerned were o sound mind during the period. That County, human beings could be so foolish ha ly seems possible. But they were, and there is plenty of evidence to prove it. One of the parties to this strange story died a few weeks ago and the other is now in the poorhouse, a broken-down old woman. But time was when they were the healthiest, wealthiest and happiest couple in this section of the count That was nearly half a century ago, but there are neighbors still living who | well remember the day that Henry Williams and his wife, Martha, came into their midst. At the time the man | was about 30 years of age and the woman a few y younger. They took up & tract of land in fer- tile Happy Valley in Calaveras Coun- | ty, and from th art prosperity was with them. Henry built with his own | hands a comfortable log cabin, and | Martha did the work about the place | with a light heart. Their crops did well and there, was no sickness among | the cattle, which multiplied so that each year a goodly number could be sold | and a neat sum deposited in bank. After twenty years of success and happiness a change came. At this time Henrwscould have signed his check for tens of thousands of dol- lars, and between them the couple agreed that they had better build | themselves a new house and vacate | the log cabin that had been their home for s0 many years. “We'll need a nice place to spend our old age,” said Henry. | “And I think we both deserve fit. | Let's send for the carpenters to-mor- row,” sald Martha. The carpenter came, and there was no trouble at all about deciding how | | i jixCABIN WHE| | wood.” | until dark he DISPUTE WINGING DOOR, uar- | the house was to look, and everything | goors; | went al g smoothly. The new house was to be built near the old log cabin. | Slowly the house came into exist- ence, and Henry and Martha watched | it like two children. For hours they spend after they had “moved in. And they would have moved in all right if it had not been for the car- | penter asking a simple question. He | had gone right ahead and done what seemed best to him until the house was almost finished. The couple were | always pleased with his ideas of the way the house should be built. If he had only gone straight ahead when he came to the kitchen door he might | have ved two people thirty years of misery. | Shall T make this kitchen door} swing in or out?” he asked one day as Henry and Martha stood watching him. “Which is the easiest?” asked Henry. “One way is as easy as another,” an- red the carpenter. “‘Then make it swing in,” said Henry. ‘It will be easier for me to carry in the | ut that will give me less room in kitchen,” objected Martha. “‘Nomsense,” Henry said, smiling. “You have more room now than you need and it makes a big difference to | me.” “Indeed!” Martha retorted, “you are looking out for yourself and don't care | what I have to put up with.” Then the domestic storm began. The carpenter sat down to wait until the two people had settled their diffi- culties, but as the argument kept up went home, thinking surely all would be well on the mor- row. The hanging of the door was all there was to do on the house. But days went on and the stubborn question re- mained undetermined. The carpenter got tired of the inter- minable dispute after a while. He could not keep track of the reasons that were brought up for having the door hung as each wished, and after a time he remained away hoping that the dis- pute would reach an-early and a natu- ra) end. But days went by into weeks, and weeks wore into months, and still no decision was reached. At dast the carpenter thought it best to Intercede | with a suggestion, and so try and settle | the auarrel. “Let me make it a sliding door,” he ropasont For a while both seemed to be struck by the idea and each walted for the other to speak. Henry looked at Mar- tha. She remained silent. “All right; go ahead,” he said to the carpenter. “That suits me.” “‘But it doesn’t suit me,” objected the wife. “I don’t want any sliding doors. Dirt gets behind them; they get out of order; lots of things happen to sliding If you make that a sliding door, Henry Williams, you can live in that house all by ourself, and that settles that point. And so the quarrel became a feud. There was enough pride in the old the story that comes from | discussed the happy days they would | couple to desire to keep the fact of their quarrel a secret. And they succeeded for a time. The carpenter was paid for his work and allowed to leave the sec- tion. For a time the neighbors won- dered why the new house was not occu- pied. Questioning the old couple brought unsatisfactory answers. “Will move into it when we are ready,” said Henry. Gradually, however, by close watch- ing and dint of cross-questioning the story of the kitchen door came out. Then the whole country side marveled and watched for the outcome of the stubborn contest. As the yvears wore on and the neg- lected house was going to ruin hus- band and wife scarcely spoke to one another. If one or the other ever at- tempted to speak the kitchen-door sub- ject was sure to crop out and cause a lively quarrel. Ten years, twenty years, twenty-nine Vvears passed and the stubborn point re- mained steadfastly unsettled. Then one day a few weeks ago Henry was taken very bors asked questions and the shook his head. “You must get Mr. Williams out of this old house.” he told Martha, “or I will give up the case. Your husband is no longer a young man and he will die here in two or three days if vou persist in keeping him in this old cabin. Why don’t you move him into the big house?” doctor four | ter allowed, but the mouth constantly | fresh egg, | the pa- | ck. Inquisitive neigh- | two hours. In addition to her regular nourishment the patient ¢njoved squab. | March 20 to 23—In addition to other nourishment seven ounces of mulled wine were given at bed time. March 23—Pulse 102. Patient walked from her room to the piazza, where she sat for two hours in the sun. Then walk- ed back to her room. March 24 to 28—Patient gained flve pounds. From 116 {ncreased to 121 pounds. March 28—Patient in a reclining position out on piazza most of the day. 'or the first time since the operation said she felt really hungry; the way she ate a squab amply proved it. It is still a question with her how to produce sleep without an opiate. Sulfo- nal, trional, bromo caffeine and bromide | of potash all excite rather than soothe | the restlessness. Morphine alone is suffi- clent if given in quarter-grain doses. March 20 to April 7—Patient gained one i pound; is on the piazza all day; walks alone; ‘reads the paper and is very active | and cheerful. | April 10 —The following shows the | amount of food taken by the patient a | day from now on: At 6:20 a. m., a cup of coffee and a raw egg; at 10 o'clock, two dozen ters and a bowl of broth; at 1 o'clock, haif a broiled chicken, with toast and stewed strawberries; at 5 o'clock, half a bofled chicken, two slices of toast {and a cup of tea. Pulse 9. | April 14—Weight 122 pounds. The symptom which gave the most | anxiety ‘after the operation was the rest- | lessness, which was unusually marked. This was without doubt the result of the surgical shock which was caused by the | removal of so important an organ as the stomach and the interfering with its ves- sels 4nd nerves. The season of the year in California, ith mild, sunny days, and the careful | and constant nursing afe among the fac- | tors which made the operation a success. Many old people can stand in the sur- | gleal point of view much more than is | generally supposed. The patient was not worried about her- | self. All she wished for was to be re- stored to health; how this was to be ac- complished she’ never asked, AND TO THIS DAY SHE DOES NOT KNOW THAT HER STOMACH HAS BEEN RE- MUVED. | . She has a fine color. Complains of noth- ing as far as the functions of her body | goes; eats whatever she wishes; has no | pain ‘whatever; is of a very cheerful dis- position. She is out of doors most of the ‘day from 10 to b o'clock; her tem- she | perature and pulse is normal an | sleeps well without an opiate. | Although she has food every three hours she feels quite hungry at times and | says she could eat twice as much as is | given her. She is regaining her normal welght. | In concluson, I wist my great indebtedn Schlatter of Zurich fc the operation and su which has been i uable to me in mak- ing this case successful. The patient has been pounds a week since the was written. At presen nine pounds less than she d 1 sequent treatment gaining five above report e weighs just her stomach was remov herself and per: about the house without any tance. Dr. Brigham only visits her oc sionally. As vet nobody told M Maginni ~ that her stomach is removed. When asked how she feels, she says cheerfully that the doctor has cured her. 000000000000 00 00O Martha’s heart softened. Going in to her hu; him gently and said: ing to have the kitchen door swing in | and we’ll move into the new house to- morrow.” Henry promptly felt ashamed of him- self for the course he had pursued in the dispute. “No,” he answered. “We'll | move if you want to and the kitchen | door canswing out.” | “But, really,” urged Martha, “it does | not make any difference which way the | door swings.” “Then fix it to sult yourself,” said | Henry. | Martha had the door hung to swing tin. She then had a few pretty things | brought from town, moved in some fur- niture, and then the neighbors carried Henry over and put him into his new bed. Martha became something like | her old self and bustled about as well | as her years would permit to make | Henry comfortable and nurse him back to_health. In this she partly succeeded, for in |a few days the old man was up and moving about the new house. He was | as happy as a child and enjoyed every | new thing and the bright surroundings to the utmost. “It's really much bet- ter than the old place, isn’t it?"’ he said. “And the door’s—well, the door’s all right. | for, anyway | Martha shook her head sadly. “Let | it pass with the thirty years,” she said. | “We haven’t many more of them to enjoy.” | Sure enough, the happiness of the old | couple in their new home was destinea | to be brief. Age was already telling | on the husband and the question over | the door being gone he seemed to settle | quickly. After a few days he had a relapse which the doctor could not overcome. One day Martha came into the room after half an hour's absence and found that her hu had passed away. And now some of the neighbors are | wondering if the old gentleman wouldn't have remained alive had he remained imbued with his willful and stubborn spirit to have the door swing | as he \\'antod‘it to. sional glass eater. exhibitions, An Ailing Professional “Glass Swallower” in St. Louis Has a Miscellancous Lot of Glass, Nails, Tacks, Cartridges and Knife Blades Removed From His Stomach and Is Now Doing as Well as Ever on a Glass Diet. U The above miscellaneous lot of nails, screws, cartridges, tacks, pleces of chaln and knife blades represent part of the stuff taken out of a prof ana had been In the business for yea “stomach-ache.” overtaken with essional gla s swallow s giving exhibitio; He was placed under an X ray and it was quickly r’'s stomach during a recent operation in St. Louis. daily without suffering any evil effects. Signor Ran- At last he was demonstrated that he contained the contents of an ordinary junk shop. After the operation Signor Ranana said he was as well as ever and ready to eat a bottle factory. VERY curious case of “glass |Of scarcity of funds, was obliged to swallowing” has just been made | hibitions daily give as many as from six to twelve ex- in saloons and else- public by the American Medical | where, but he did not swallow much at Association Journal of Chie: The case is that of What did we ever row over it | sion of swallowing glass, ' for a period of nine years. He presented | feel ill himself to the clinic of Dr. Meisenbach | and stated that his father and mother were living and of a very nervous tem- | perament. had received a very fair education, at- tending public high school and college. ‘While still at school he witnessed in March, 1888, an exhibition by a profes- He paid $10 to learn the feat and after a few days he found hé could perform the operation nicely. First he gave private exhibitions and took great interest in swallowing other objects, as nails and sword swallow- ing 1In 1894 he joined a specialty com- | pany and since that time he has been | continually giving private and public | at least one or two a week. He does not remember the quantity of | things swaliowed. In the early part of March, 1897, he; | started out on a trip, and, on account | Ranana,” who swallowed nails, glass, bits of chain, knife blades and almost anything he could get into his mouth. He did this publicly for several years; then he was taken ill. His stomach was | ny cut open by Dr. A. H. Meisenbach and |fence a miscellaneous junk shop moved from his interior. nana termed himself “The Human Os- trich,” and had followed the profes- | March 15 he gave a number of exhibi- metal, £0. | a time, only “Signor | or five nail Signor Ra- - o F oW D =R gt A a bit or two of glass, four screws and a few fence staples. He always carried a supply of objects, so as to be able to give an | exhibition’ of swallowing at any time. | In his repertoire were pearl top lamp | chimneys, two, four, six and eight pen- na wire fence nails, barbed wire aples and thirty-two and thirty- eight caliber cartridges. He never | swallowed tacks. | _ The patient stated that, up to 1897, he never had any trouble; but on | tions, and on March 16 he began to Dr. Meisenbach examined the patient and found he weighed 152 his color was pale, his gums and his breath very foul; his 76, temperature 98 degrees and pulse He was 22 years old and | respiration 23. The stomach was inflated with air, so as to more clearly outline its lower | wire nails; part. It was decided to demonstrate, if possible, the mass of foreign mater- ial by the use of X rays. Haying enlarged the stomach incision the doctor introduced hand. He | scooped out the remaining articles and | worked very carefully, so as not to in- jure the stomach walls and also not to cut his fingers on the sharp points of the nails, staples and the broken | pieces of glass. | The cobjects were all clean. The iron | was blued and smoothed; the pieces of glass and copper of their natural color and bright. During the opera- | tion of the removal of the objects there was a continued secretion into the sto- mach taking place, so that it was ne- cessary every now and then to mop this out by means of gauze sponges. The list of articies removed from the | stomach and shown in our engraving is as follows: Twenty-five staples for barbed fence wire; fifteen 1%-inch screw inch horseshoe nails; six- | teen wire nails; thirty 1%-inch sixteen 32-caliber cart- -inc | | | _MARTHA WILLIAMS \ el e Al THE KITCHEN DOOR THAT CAUSED A THIRTY YEARS’ DISPUTE BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE. ridges; five 38-caliber cartridges; two Pocket knife blades (brokesn")f two inchesof brass washstand chain and two small staples; total, 119 pieces. Eight cartridges passed after operation. There was also one ounce of commi- nuted glass (electric light globe), mak- ing the total number of objects 127; total weight one pound.