Historic moments : the first capital operation under the influence of ether / By Daniel Denison Slade.

  • Slade, D. D. (Daniel Dennison), 1823-1896.
Date:
[1892]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Historic moments : the first capital operation under the influence of ether / By Daniel Denison Slade. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University, through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library at Yale University.

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    / i THE FIRST CAPITtAL OPERATION UNDER ETHER. I ate, which it was alleged would/ prevent any pain from being felt. , Thereupon, Morton, a man / of com- manding figure and appearaiice, very- erect, and dressed, as he usually was, in a stylish fashion peculiar to himself, consisting of a blue frock coat with brass buttons, a large and elegant scarf which completely filled up the oj)en front of the waistcoat, gaiter trousers, etc., and bearing in his hands the in- strument already described, came in from an adjacent room, and advancing to the operating-table, spoke a few words of encouragement to the patient and in- structed her in the method of inhaling. The curiosity on the part of all present was intense. The stiUness was oppres- sive, broken only by the hurried respira- tion and occasional sob of the patient. Grouped about Morton, standing as the central figure at the head of the operat- ing-table, were the surgical and medical officers of the institution, as also the at- tendants, all as intent upon the unusual scene before them as were the most un- tried spectators in the seats of the am- phitheatre. In three minutes the patient was com- pletely under the influence of the prep- aration, as shown by the complete mus- cular relaxation, the drooping eyelids, the immobile pupil, and the deathlike insensibility to external impressions. Morton now informing Dr. Hayward that his patient was ready, the assistants drew her body down upon the table, so that the lower hmbs projected beyond its edge, the right one being duly sup- ported. Dr. J. Mason Warren com- pressed the femoral artery at the groin. Dr. Hayward, grasping the soft parts of the front of the thigh, so as to bring them well out from the bone, pushed the long amputating knife through the flesh from the outside, transfixing the whole thickness of the thigh, and cutting out- ward, formed an anterior flap. This be- ing slightly lifted up by his assistant, he then carried the knife in the same di- rection which it first took, but behind the bone, and again cutting outward, formed the second flap from the posteri- or surface of the thigh. The two flaps were then retracted by one of the sur- geons whUe the bone was sawed. A slight unevenness of the bone remaining. 523 was made smooth by the bone-forceps. The principal artery was then secured by ligature, and four others were placed upon bleeding points. The loss of blood was very small. A compress, dipped in cold water, and retained in place by a few turns of a roller bandage over the stump, was the only dressing ap- plied. The amputation occupied less than two minutes, not including the time consumed in tying the arteries. Dr. Hayward said afterward that he per- formed the operation rapidly, as he feared the insensibility might pass off, and that there were no means of contin- uing it as long as it might be desirable. During the opieration the patient re- mained in the most profound sleep, evincing not the slightest sensibility to pain untU the tightening of the last Hgature, when she uttered a groan, and then soon returned to partial conscious- ness. She was ignorant of the loss of her limb, and could hardly be persuaded of the fact. The operation completed, and even before the removal of the patient from the room, the profoiuid stillness and suspense which had hiuig over all pres- ent, was broken by loud murmurs of surprise and admiration at the success which had been attained. Morton was the hero of the hour, and was regarded vsdth feehngs akin to those which might have been awakened had an angel sud- denly appeared, bearing waters from the Lethean streams of oblivion, which having been administered to the suffering invalid, had produced the ef- fects witnessed. As the long procession passed out and down the hospital stairways, everyone was earnestly engaged in discussing the events of the past hour. The nature of the anodyne and its discoverer, the suc- cess of the operation under its influence, the operator, the patient, the cause of the long and mysterious discussion among the surgeons—each of these top- ics came in for its due share of atten- tion. However much they may have differed on minor points, it was conced- ed that this was a demonstration which, from its magnitude, would carry to the scientific world a conviction, not mere- ly of a possibility, but of the certainty, safety, and the completeness of the in-