HEART ENCRUSTED BY DEPOSIT OF LIME

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 150, 22 March 1938, Page 8

HEART ENCRUSTED BY DEPOSIT OF LIME

Melbourne Man’s Complaint EN ROUTE TO AMERICA TO UNDERGO OPERATION By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, March 21. With his heart encrusted by a hard deposit of lime which threatens his life hourly, a young man from Melbourne arrived at Auckland by the Aorangi on his way to America to undergo an operation at the hands of expert surgeons,. The victim of this rare complaint, technically known as progressive pericarditis, is Mr. A. M. Watkins, 26-year-old son of Mr. A. AV. Watkins, of the Watkins Proprietary, Ltd., Melbourne. Accompanied by his father and mother and his bride of seven months, Mr. AVatkins appears well and happy, and is hopeful of complete recovery as a result of his forthcoming operation. His trouble developed eight years ago. It took time to make its presence felt, and did not cause inconvenience until three weeks ago. The complaint was then diagnosed as a lime deposit which was slowly closing the vein leading the blood to the heart by tightening around it. Instead of performing its proper function, the heart is not able to treat sufficient blood to cope with the food consumed by Mr. AVatkins. The result is that his blood turns to water and a form of dropsy develops. Mr. Ayatkins feels no pain and is able to move about with comparative ease providing 'he does ’no.t overtax himself. Attacks of pneumonia are stated to be the original cause of the complaint. “Knowing what medical science is capable of to-day and with recent graphic illustrations of lives being saved by a nail being taken from a child's iung and a girl’s heart being repaired with the aid of a respirator, I decided to give my son every chance by placing him in the hands of the best heart specialists in the world,” said Mr. Watkins, sen. “A Melbourne specialist spoke to an American colleague about the case by radio telephone last week, and copies of X-ray plates have been forwarded. The American specialist said the operation can be done and that the chances of my son being cured are 50 per cent.,” Mr. Watkins added. “In Melbourne he could not hope to be cured, but by going overseas he has an equal chance of getting better. We have great hopes in the success of the operation.”