A MAN LIVING WITH A BROKEN NECK.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1974, 26 November 1889, Page 4

A MAN LIVING WITH A BROKEN NECK.

The death of John B. Hill, a San Francisco house mover (the New York Herald says), terminates a ease of wonderful vitality which has excited special attention in the medical profession. On Wednesday, May 22nd, Mr Hill was knocked down by a bale of hay, weighing 2501 b, which, falling upon his head, crushed his neck into his body, so that what had measured 4in. was reduced to liin in length. He was rendered unconscious at once. Drs Wooster, Perry, Cachot, Mays, and Todd took charge of the case. On Thursday the surgical knife was applied. The operation occupied just two hours. An incision was made in the centre of the neck and at its base, and along its entire length, about Sin., exposing the spinal column. The deepest incision was a little more than 2in. Laying bare the spinal column disclosed the fact that the third and fourth veHebree had been crushed. The third vertebra is the weakest of the spinal column, and the one which breaks and causes the snapping of the spinal cord in hanging. It was found to be injured more than the fourth. It was what physicians call a comminuted fracture. The fragments pressed upon the spinal cord, and a portion of them had penetrated the membranes, allowing the escape of the spinal fluid in considerable quantity. The bones were removed with the greatest care, leaving the cord exposed for nearly an inch and a half. Into this cavity the doctors thrust antiseptic gauze, and a few stitches were put in the lower portions of the incision made by the knife. But the i work of restoring the unfortunate man to consciousness was by no means j completed. The application of the ; Charcot system of suspension for fracture of the spine or locomotor j ataxia was necessary, for with the icondition of the injured vertebras, the ibead, having no support, would inevitjably fall down upon the spine, and Jjdeath would soon follow. No imiproved apparatus to keep the spine jelongated was at hand, so Dr Wooster proceeded to improvise the machinery. The patient was placed upon a mattress on an extension dining table about 7ft long in the centre of the room on the main floor. There are three rooms on this floor—a parlour, dining-room, and kitchen, In the partition wall separating the parlour and dining-room an iron pulley was screwed in tight and another in the kitchen wall. Strong pieces of muslin about 4in wide were precured and fitted under the chin around to the apex of the head, around to and below the ears. Then cords were fastened on the bandage under the chin and by means of the pulleys drawn out and slightly elevated so as to relieve the pressure upon the injured spine. In that position Mr Hill remained, except for periods of two minutes three times a day. “ It is one of the most remarkable cases I haye ever met with in all

my long experience as a surgeon and physician,” remarked Dr Wooster. “ Hill, whom I have known for more than a quarter of a century, was a man of splendid physique and endurance. For days he took no nourishment except a'little buttermilk and a little butter.