Injuries of nerves and their consequences - Reflex Sympathetic ...

300 INJURIES OF NERVES.
a hot stove with four or five
heat of midsummer, to lie
bj
blankets over him; the cold perspiration, meanwhile,
streaming from him. His appetite was nearly gone; his
bowels were habitually constipated; and the whole man
was emaciated, feeble, and fretful. He was willing to undergo
any operation w^bich promised relief, even amputation
of the arm.
"June 27, 1870.— Assisted by my friend, Surgeon Woolverton.
United States iN'avy, I proceeded to etherize the
patient, which was accomplished with great trouble and
difficulty.
Fourteen ounces of ether w^ere used, and an
hour passed, the patient struggling violently and under
great excitement, before the muscles relaxed and he became
quiet.
"An incision was made in the forearm, between the
flexor carpi radialis and the palmaris longus muscles,
three and one-half inches in length, terminating two
inches above the wrist-joint; and three inches of the
median nerve were removed. There was considerable
venous hemorrhage after the operation, which ceased on
the application of ice. The wound was closed by sutures
and adhesive strips, and water-dressing applied.
"As soon as patient passed from under the influence
of the ether, he declared that '
the pain in the hand had
left him.' He slept three or four hours the first night
under the influence of immense doses of bromide of potassium.
He never used any opiate after the operation,
and insists that he scarcely slept an hour for fourteen
days, and had not a sound night's sleep for twenty-six days
after it; but his appetite returned at once, and he was in
exuberant spirits at his freedom from pain. During the
first four days after the operation chloral hydrate in
drachm doses, and hyoscyamus, Caimabis Indica, etc., in
heroic doses, failed to produce sleep, when I sent him to
a quiet country home, and directed the free use of ale,