Surgery of John Dodd discussed at Medical Society meeting

CASE OF JOHN DODD.

It is being discussed at the County

Medical Society’s Meeting.

Dr. I. N. Trent’s subject, “Aneurism of the Vertebral Artery,” readbefore the Delaware County Medical society this afternoon in the small courtroom, was one of the most interesting ever discussed in this city. Several months ago John Dodd’s right vertebral artery was almost severed by a knife wound received in a fight with Larry Carry. The operation that followed was a difficult one. The aneurismal sac was split with a knife and stuffed with sponges shutting off the blood supply to the brain by that artery. The brain is now fed by the two caroted [sic] carotid arteries and the left vertebral. Dodd lingered for weeks, finally recovering. In his address before the society Dr. Trent said in part:

“In 30 years at the New Orleans charity hospital there were 463,894 patients treated with but one case where the vertebral artery was injured. In all the reports of the world there have been but 21 cases of this kind, including Dodd’s. Only seven out of the 21 cases have recovered — 5 with and two without operations. There were but two other operations of this kind that was performed on Dodd. One was performed by Kocher, of Berne, Switzerland, in 1871, and the other by Matas of New Orleans, in 1883, two eminent surgeons. Of the seven cases five were treated by American surgeons.”

In the operation performed on Dodd last summer, Dr. Trent was assisted by Drs. W. D. Whitney, Dr. Emma Whitney, Dr. G. W. H. Kemper and Dr. A. T. Kemper.