A RARE OPERATION
BOY’S BRAIN OPENED PREVENTING IDIOCY WASHINGTON, May 13. (Received May 15, at 5.5 p.m.) One of the rarest operations in history was performed when the skull of a 30-months-old boy was split in halves and wedged apart to permit the brain to grow to normal size and prevent lifelong idiocy. The child was the victim of microcephaly of the little brain. The head stops growing during childhood, this being caused either by the brain’s failure to grow or because the skull itself stops growing, leaving no room for the brain to expand. A famous brain surgeon split the skull in halves on a line extending from points in front of both ears over the top of the head and then inserted metal wedges, after cutting the membrane enclosing the brain to allow the expansion. The child is resting comfortably.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 23501, 16 May 1938, Page 10
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142A RARE OPERATION Otago Daily Times, Issue 23501, 16 May 1938, Page 10
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