Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine [415]
death, patients with well-authenticated cases of vertebral fracture have recovered. Warren records the case of a woman of sixty who, while carrying a clothes-basket, made a misstep and fell 14 feet, the basket of wet clothes striking the right shoulder, chest, and neck. There was fracture of the 4th dorsal vertebra at the transverse processes. By seizing the spinous process it could be bent backward and forward, with the peculiar crepitus of fractured bone. The clavicle was fractured two inches from the acromial end, and the sternal end was driven high up into the muscles of the neck. The arm and hand were paralyzed, and the woman suffered great dyspnea. There was at first a grave emphysematous condition due to the laceration of several broken ribs. There was also suffusion and ecchymosis about the neck and shoulder. Although complicated with tertiary syphilis, the woman made a fair recovery, and eight weeks later she walked into a doctor's office. Many similar and equally wonderful injuries to the spine are on record.
The results sometimes following the operation of laminectomy for fracture of the vertebrae are often marvelous. One of the most successful on record is that reported by Dundore. The patient was a single man who lived in Mahanoy, Pa., and was admitted to the State Hospital for Injured Persons, Ashland, Pa., June 17, 1889, suffering from a partial dislocation of the 9th dorsal vertebra. The report is as follows--"He had been a laborer in the mines, and while working was injured March 18, 1889, by a fall of top rock, and from this date to that of his admission had been under the care of a local physician without any sign of improvement. At the time of his admission he weighed but 98 pounds, his weight previous to the injury being 145. He exhibited entire loss of motion in the lower extremities, with the exception of very slight movement in the toes of the left foot; sensation was almost nil up to the hips, above which it was normal; he had complete retention of urine, with a severe cystitis. His tongue was heavily coated, the bowels constipated, and there was marked anorexia, with considerable anemia. His temperature varied from 99 degrees to 100 degrees in the morning, and from 101 degrees to 103 degrees in the evening. The time which had elapsed since the accident precluded any attempt at reduction, and his anemic condition would not warrant a more radical method.
"He was put on light, nourishing diet, iron and strychnin were given internally, and electricity was applied to the lower extremities every other day; the cystitis was treated by irrigating the bladder each day with Thiersch's solution. By August his appetite and general condition were much improved, and his weight had increased to 125 pounds, his temperature being 99 degrees or less each morning, and seldom as high as 100 degrees at night. The cystitis had entirely disappeared, and he was able, with some effort, to pass his urine without the aid of a catheter. Sensation in both extremities had slightly improved, and he was able to slightly move the toes of the right foot. This being his condition, an operation was proposed as the only means of further and permanent improvement, and to this he eagerly consented, and, accordingly, on the 25th of August, the 9th dorsal vertebra was trephined.
"The cord was found to be compressed and greatly congested, but there was no evidence of laceration. The laminae and spinous processes of the 8th and 9th dorsal vertebrae were cut away, thus relieving all pressure on the cord; the wound was drained and sutured, and a plaster-of-Paris jacket applied, a hole being cut out over the wound for the purpose of changing the dressing when necessary. By September 1st union was perfect, and for the next month the patient remained in excellent condition, but without any sign of improvement as to sensation and motion. Early in October he was able to slightly move both legs, and had full control of urination; from this time on his paralysis rapidly improved; the battery was applied daily, with massage morning and evening;
The results sometimes following the operation of laminectomy for fracture of the vertebrae are often marvelous. One of the most successful on record is that reported by Dundore. The patient was a single man who lived in Mahanoy, Pa., and was admitted to the State Hospital for Injured Persons, Ashland, Pa., June 17, 1889, suffering from a partial dislocation of the 9th dorsal vertebra. The report is as follows--"He had been a laborer in the mines, and while working was injured March 18, 1889, by a fall of top rock, and from this date to that of his admission had been under the care of a local physician without any sign of improvement. At the time of his admission he weighed but 98 pounds, his weight previous to the injury being 145. He exhibited entire loss of motion in the lower extremities, with the exception of very slight movement in the toes of the left foot; sensation was almost nil up to the hips, above which it was normal; he had complete retention of urine, with a severe cystitis. His tongue was heavily coated, the bowels constipated, and there was marked anorexia, with considerable anemia. His temperature varied from 99 degrees to 100 degrees in the morning, and from 101 degrees to 103 degrees in the evening. The time which had elapsed since the accident precluded any attempt at reduction, and his anemic condition would not warrant a more radical method.
"He was put on light, nourishing diet, iron and strychnin were given internally, and electricity was applied to the lower extremities every other day; the cystitis was treated by irrigating the bladder each day with Thiersch's solution. By August his appetite and general condition were much improved, and his weight had increased to 125 pounds, his temperature being 99 degrees or less each morning, and seldom as high as 100 degrees at night. The cystitis had entirely disappeared, and he was able, with some effort, to pass his urine without the aid of a catheter. Sensation in both extremities had slightly improved, and he was able to slightly move the toes of the right foot. This being his condition, an operation was proposed as the only means of further and permanent improvement, and to this he eagerly consented, and, accordingly, on the 25th of August, the 9th dorsal vertebra was trephined.
"The cord was found to be compressed and greatly congested, but there was no evidence of laceration. The laminae and spinous processes of the 8th and 9th dorsal vertebrae were cut away, thus relieving all pressure on the cord; the wound was drained and sutured, and a plaster-of-Paris jacket applied, a hole being cut out over the wound for the purpose of changing the dressing when necessary. By September 1st union was perfect, and for the next month the patient remained in excellent condition, but without any sign of improvement as to sensation and motion. Early in October he was able to slightly move both legs, and had full control of urination; from this time on his paralysis rapidly improved; the battery was applied daily, with massage morning and evening;