MARVELS OF BRAIN SURGERY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 3136, 25 September 1922, Page 7

MARVELS OF BRAIN SURGERY.

Aii uncanny drama of the operating theatre was revealed in his presidential address to the British Medical Association by Sir William MacEwen, Regius Professor of Surgery at Glasgow University, and Surgeon-in-Ordinary to tlve King in Scotland. Sir William told of an operation performed by himself on a man suffering from abscess of the brain. Breathing difficulties set in so rapidly in such cases that in this instance artificial respiration had to be carried on throughout the operation. The patient was, of course, unconscious. The operation was begun, and two ounces of pus: escaped. Natural breathing was immediately resumed, and: while the -staff, still with white, drawn faces from their arduous work, stood roun,d the man they had drawn back from the actual brink of the grave, he recovered consciousnc«s and exclaimed : "What's all this damned fuss about?" "It had a startling effect on the staff," commented Sir William MacEwen. The unseeing eyes which had been open all the time suddenly saw.' Other marvels of brain surgery were then discussed. Instances were recorded of patients who, as the result of the removal of lesions or tumors in the brain, had been enabled to walk, to use their eyes, and to recover command of mental faculties. Sir William MacEwen put forward a startling theory in regard to germs. but he did not develop it in detail, and left his hearers wondering. "Microbiology," he said, '4s in its infancy. Myriads of germs surround us of which wo know little. Organisms are contained in food and transmitted to the alimentary canal; some are benign and useful for digestion, but others arc malignant. "The colon is an incubating chamber, and instead of allowing it to grow weeds we ought to sow it in plants which would lie of use in promoting digestion and producing chemical compounds combative of weakness and disease. Such 'gardening' might end in

preventing appendicitis, arteriosclerosis, and rheumatism. A healthy colon contribute.-; to longevity and a healthy state of mind." Mice, the known carriers of disease, were the subject of a fanciful diversion. "What man thinks of the mouse," said Sir William, "may be smnmed up in forms of destruction—traps, gins, and cats; but what the mouse thinks of man woidd not flatter his vanity. "Mouse regards man as an impotent animal, who issues' threats of destruction and makes the most clumsy, shortlived attempts to carry them out; as a pusilanimous antagonist who for centuries has waged war on him without effect. Mice are still as numerous, bold, intelligent, agile, beautiful, and destructive as ever."