ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 47, 24 February 1864, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

VTESdO- NOT. ;HOLD. OUESELVES RESEONStBIE I tidß Ithe? oriNioirsi . expbessed bt. . ottb COBBESPONDENTS. (To the 'Editor of- the Invercargill Times.) Sib, — As 1 expect shortly to be discharged from this Hospital, ..after a confinement of twenty-seven weeks, permit me, through the medium 4 of ; your; columns, to. make a public aclmowiecigement of %o very able treatment and kindness I have . received at- the hands of Drs. M'Clure and Mxirray during my illness. , rv On the .-; third; day after, leaving .the : Clyde, r ih ; the ship YRbhert*' HehdWsbh, I h&d the ; misfortune to get a compound 'fracture of the^ right leg above the ancle joint, and another : below, the knee,i which I am -sorry*;. toy sayiwas very badly treated' by the." medical 'officer on board, so muoh so, Hliat' f was daily getting worse, tiU the ship arrived at the Bluff.,, * ■"■> I'canie-to tliis' Hospital oh the'2oth'November, *>.iriY a .very; poof state - indeed, fand rwith yei^.littlahopes of. the leg being. saved, ; ]butjl am- now' thankful" to, be - able « to state, . that under the able and :' skilful frea'tmeht of Drs.' M^lurepand Murray, .1 am nowfast recover--, ing, ah-djhdpefsooh'tolhayl the liVe of the leg, again. 'Indeed, I have' ho "doubt;, ? that to both these gentlemen, I owe, my, life, as had I not been very sMlfiiUy treated, "I could not havestood the long;-.e.onfinement (twenty-seven weeks lying on my back.)' " To* Dr. Murray, (the Resident Surgeon,) I feel deeply grateful for the. kindness and attention L received from him, which I shall never forget. Tliere were four operations performed, two of them under chloroform, when: ai number -of decayed bones were taken out of the leg, from one to two-and-a-half inches long. I am, Sir, . • „ Your most, obedient, servant, ' ' A- . ... i . Duncan M'Eadgek. Provincial Hospital, 23rd February, 1864. [On inquiry at the hospital, the foUowing particulars of this case were supplied to ushy the Resident Surgeon. We hope it' will show .the authorities, both. here and at home, the necessity of submitting to a rigid examination any aspiring individual who may wish to get a cheap passage" to' this couutry by being rated on a ship's books as " doctor :" — " Mr. M'Eadgen was admitted into the Pro vincial : Hospital on the 20th November, 1863. His right leg then presented the following appearances : — Swelled and discolored from conges tion, covered in the neighborhood of * the wouuds with patches of hard xlried puss, mixed with old epithelium scales, and apparently the leg had not been washed for a long time. There was a large open sore about the lower third of the leg, from which a portion of the tibia (shin bone), projected. So it had remained for \three months prior to admission, with the exception that a portion had been ingeniously removed, it having been sawn off by the ship's doctor. On examining the leg more closely, tlie fibula (small bone of leg) was found to be fractured at its upper third, and the lower sharp-pointed fragment had almost found its way through the skin. There was au ulcer on the instep from; improper bandaging, aud a largo oue on the heel, opening down almost to the heel bone, from long continued pressure. The poor sufferer had to submit to the following operations -. — lst. Soon after admission, excision of upper portion (about an iuch) of projecting end of fibula. 2nd. About a week afterwards, removal of projecting .end of tibia (shin bone), which was found disunited from the shaft of the bone and dead (sequestrum) ; aU pressure being meanwhile removed from other sores. 3rd. Another operation for the removal of a large piece of dead tibia. 4th. When the wound had almost healed, an unmistakable evidence of more dead bone remaining behind, necessitated a new and dangerous operation. A sequestrum an inch and a half long was then removed from the posterior aspect of the tibia." We saw the patient on the 22nd inst.; all his wounds are healed, a few days more only wiU be required before the main sore is properly skinned over. The axis of the limb has been in a great measure restored ; it differs but little in size or shape from tlie sound limb, arid wiU evideiitlv soon become strong enough to use in walking."— Ed. I. TA]