IRON LUNG

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 June 1938, Page 6

IRON LUNG

OBTAINED BY WELLINGTON HOSPITAL MEANS OF SAVING LIVES (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. An “iron lung,” which may save the lives of persons otherwise doomed to certain death, is being installed at the Wellington Public Hospital. A comparatively recent development of medical science, the “iron lung” was first brought to the notice of the general public in 1936, when Mr Frederick B. Snite, junr., son of a wealthy Chicago financier, contracted infantile paralysis at Peiping, China, while on a flying trip. A few hours after going to hospital he was paralysed from the neck down. He could not move a muscle to breathe and would have suffocated in a few minutes had the hospital not had one of the few artificial respirators in the Orient. Inside the “iron lung” Mr Snite has lived for more than two years and has made a 9000 mile journey by truck, train and ship, from Peiping to Chicago. The apparatus is used to treat cases of paralysis of the respiratory muscles or of respiratory failure after overdoses of sedative drugs. It is a mechanical aid, which carries on respiration while the muscles are paralysed. “Without such aid, patients suffering from respiratory failure must almost inevitably die,” said the superintendent of the hospital, Dr A. R. Thorne, yesterday. “So we cannot expect the apparatus to save 100 per cent of cases —but even if it saves one in five it is worth while.” Dr Thorne added that cases in which the “iron lung” was required were fairly rare. The iron lung is a casket-like box, mounted on a steel frame a few feet high. The patient lies inside the box, completely encased except for his head and arms; these project through apertures made airtight by ruffs of sponge rubber. Fourteen to 20 times a minute a suction pump creates a slight vacuum in the box. This lifts the patient’s chest and pulls a breath of fresh air into his lungs. . When the pump releases the vacuum, his chest falls and he exhales.

For a patient who is conscious, adjustable mirrors may be set up over his upturned face, enabling him to read, play games, and see his meals when they are placed on a table immediately at the back of his head.