A MECHANICAL FACE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 322, 22 January 1908, Page 4

A MECHANICAL FACE.

TRICMPII (IK MODF.KX Sl'litiKßY. I l!i.' latest triuui|ili of surgical science ! i.a- actually supplied i| M . victim .if .1 frightful tlwtigiirciucnt «itli a n.-w vi- | age tliat make- it |>o--ible lor liini :.i ] ome more mingle with nun... This feat has been accomplished in I'aris by Dr. Delaire, of the French Academy of Medicine, and is the wond"r ot savants and physician*- and a iiiarvl of ingenuity. Nothing lias ever been dene that i- like it. It is the la.-t won! in all that is wonderful in surgery. J Some months ago Henri de I'olisnet. 1.1 wealthy man, went out for a day's -hooting in the woods. At his lirst shot I his gun exploded, tearing aw.iy li.ilh J j.i»». 1113 1 Inn. U'h- uppei li[i. and no-o. j I'ia.tically nothing was left of the poor i tallow's face but iii- .ye- an,l forehead. ; lie was [licked up. appaiciilly dead. ' I'hcre were, however, .1 few sign- of life, and though it seenie.l like .1 miracle. tin- victim reovi-reil coii-ci..u.-u<-—. lie

.1.1- told lli.it he eould nm po-ibly -uv Mve. bill In tile a-lolli-llllielll 111 cm] V ,«e he did. And in due se,i-oii. lioiiii.l\ n.aimed a- lie mi-. M. de I'mi-cl iv eo\ered his health and strength. Hut he was a horrible U|»jH, with the lower half of Id- fa.-; .oinpletcly -hot away ;\n.| the inierior of his head evpo-ed. I; war then thai Dr. Delaire was call«d in. After many onsultations and esaiiiiii.illeu- he told the victim that if lie could hive [iaticn-o lie would try to give him a new face. The niu-t delicate iiica-iirenients were taken aud numerous trial mudefc. were built up. Finally Dr. Delaire got wh.it lie wanted—a perfect nieelianical face that at ten tcet distance cannot he tuld ! from one moulded by nature. The miss- ! ing organs have been replaced by arti- • licial parts, and Jl. de Fousset can now ' -peak without difficulty. He can niasti- \ cate hi food with nearly the same ease as he could bo lore tile accident which all but killed him. I Even in a well lighted room at a few feet distance no one would uotice th'it there was anything wrong with the man with the mechanical face. He simply appears as a person of rather immobile j features, nothing more; but it is said

that, he laugUt and talks and eats with the same apparent ease as one who still 1 ha* the features which Nature gave him to begin with. There are four parts to this woiidjrtul contrivance of rubber and metal. The first part is a horseshoe shaped bar 01 silver, which is grooved. This is at Uclied to a dental apparatus of tin, in which are fixed the remaining lower teeth. This is affixed to two small contrivances, which fit snugly into the nasal acvities, all that is left of the nose. This also fills up the right sinus, which «j----smashrd in. At the back is a piece 01 gold nu-chanistu with hooks, which fasten on the face piece. , The third part of the face con>i>ts of an artificial chin and lower lip. made ot indiarubber, and painted -0 exactly ' the colour of healthy ekin as to resemble a real chin aud lip of llesb and blood. The illusion- is further heightened by , a lalse Ward made of real human hair.

At the Uiek uf the false lip are two tiny Iwlts which pas, through holes in the false teeth and brmly lix the uriilicial liji tu the false jaw. When the few remaining imnscles work ou the jaw the false lip* move in a manner so true to •tie thai * person nix the <n>posite side of ;ue table crvuld hardly notice SI. de i'otiss«t's management of his food. 'the fourth and la»t piece of thin remarkable apparatus is its erowning triumph. This is the upper lip and nose. So close to .Nature lias Dr. Delaire fashioned them that no one passing SI. Jo I'ousset on the street would turn to look at him twice. The upper lip is of rubber painted the hue of real llesh, and from it sprouts a luxuriant moustache. At the back are two small clasp* to which the upper dental piece and jaws are fixed.

Remnants of several muscles are slill left in SI. de Pousset's late. Tliene are sufficient to work the jaws and enable the interior of the mouth and the remaining portion of the tongue to perioral the ncrmal functions of mastication and swallowing. Apparently SI. de I'ousset suffers little or no inconvenient.'. while his digestion is perfect. This mechanical face has one advantage—it can be taken oir at night anil put away. Once a day SI. de l'onss:l carefully unhooks his 'face and washes it thoroughly in soap and water—think of a man being able to take olt hi? face and handle it for ablutionary purposes! ' .

JI. de Pousset has uught himself to articulate *o well by means of his arti licial lips and the stump of his tongue that his defect, even after only a fewweeks' practice, is hardly noticeable.