ELIMINATION OF PAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20332, 13 August 1929, Page 10

ELIMINATION OF PAIN.

MEDICAL SCIENCE ADVANCE

IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS.

A NOTED ANAESTHETIST

VISITOR TO NEW ZEALAND

Fulfilling part of his life's work—a crusade to join all the English-speaking peoples in a unified effort for the conquest of pain—Dr. F. 11. McMechan, sec-retary-general of the International Anaesthesia Research Society and a world authority of anaesthesia, arrived at Auckland by the Makura yesterday. Ho will remain in New Zealand for about three v.'ticks arid will then go to Australia to attend the medical conference in Sydney. " In the past there have been very intimate relations between the United States and Canada with regard to anaesthesia, Dr. McMechan said. "Several years ago these were intended to include Great Britain and now v.-r, hope to enlist, Australia and New Zealand in our common purpose. The importance of this step may best be realised by the fact that Anaesthesia and the relief of pain have only scratched the surface, even in civilised countries. The relief of pain for humanity at large has become another of the white man's problems and New Zealand and Australia have their responsibility toward the- teeming millions of the Orient. There is no other part of the world which has the closeness of contact to accomplish this. There are the jii'M tremendous possibilities that have ever been offered in the history of medicine for two nations to contribute this Godgiven beneficence to other races."

Vitality Not Imperilled. Even in Australia and New Zealand, pain relief had many possibilities as yet tinfathome'l, Dr. McMechan continued. Patients were sent to sleep for operations, luit they endured pain at other times. The service which the medical profession gave to tho public could not bo complete until every doctor was able to relieve successfully and safely every vestige of pain from which any patient might suffer. To bring this about was the airn of tlio research society.

i" The application of pure physics and mechanical genius have produced gas machines for putting patients to sleep," paid Dr. McMechan. " The modern apparatus is so delicately adjusted that there may be given the precise mixture of gas and oxygen which will secure unconsciousness and obliterate oil pain and which v.ill riot imperil in the least the patient's vitality. The gases may be repeated almost indefinitely from day to day without any bad effects on the patient. There was a recent case in which a boy aged nine years was given a gas mixture on 84 successive occasions for tho dressing of burns without any effects except tho relief of pain. The older anaesthetics cannot be repeated at short intervals more than two or three times without disastrous effects."

A Par-reaching Discovery.- . Another far-reaching .discovery had occurred in the direction of maintaining tho pnfity of ether. Dr. McMechan said. Ether was apt to deteriorate in storage, and this fact was responsible /or much <<f the after-sickness following its use. Research had disclosed that by lining the. ether tins with copper the formation of poisonous by-products was entirely prevented, even when the ether was exposed to intense heat under pressure. In future suffering humanity would be spared thi« after-effects from impure ether. In pursuing this research it was found accessary to find something in nituro which duplicated the lining membrane of the human lung, with its thousands of microscopic sweepers. This substance was found in tlie gill of the oyster, and it was discovered that poisonous ether stopped eipver for hours or entirely the action of these sweepers. For a time the research was halted bv the fact that even the heat of tho microscope mirror also interfered with the action of the sweepers, and it was not until the, fusing of purp quartz provided a source of absolutely cold light that the research could be concluded. This Was just one instance of the "intricate research which was going on in the realm of anaesthetics. Less Time in Hospital.

Tho now era of anaesthesia held flic possibility of reducing hospital maintenance costs and wiping out deficits. Gasoxygon anaesthesia was so rapidly induced end recovery was so rapid that each patient's stay in hospital was so shortened .that 25 per cent, more patients xould lie operated on in one hospital without ■adding, a bed or a nurse. In maternity hospitals mothers and their babies could Tjc returned home on tho sixth or eighth day, instead of after tho usual two weeks, and Ihc newer gas era would tend to wipe out a quarter of tho maternal and infantile death-rate. ■ "Perhaps the mo3t revolutionary field Which the use of anaesthetics and gases is entering to-day is that of tho treatment of diseases apart from surgery," Dr. McMechan said. "Anaesthesia is being used in tho treatment of diseases caused

by germs which die in air, and the use •of compressed air is finding extended use in pneumonia, heart and kidney diseases and burns. It is not- even necessary to oxygen by inhalation. It may. be inflated under loose areas of skin with marked beneficial results. One London .surgeon has used this method in his last. 200 cases of burns with remarkably speedy healing. "The main purpose of the International 'Anaesthesia Research Society is not merely to bring all tho resources of pure fieience to the clinical relief of pain, but also to secure tho co-operation of all medical and dental schools in teaching anaesthesia. Wo want to develop specialists lo man flic anaesthesia departments of tho larger hospitals and to fit «'\ery doctor lo use anaesthetics and other pain-relieving drugs in every phase of his practice. Wo aim to wipe out that blot on the fair shield of surgery—"the operation was a success but the patient died.' "