April 6, 1901: This man will live without a stomach

This story appeared on the front page of the Minneapolis Tribune. The accompanying graphic is helpful, but neither it nor the story explains how the patient will get by without a stomach.

April 7, 2012 at 2:47AM
April 6, 1901: Man without a stomach
(Ben Welter/The Minnesota Star Tribune)


THIS MAN WILL LIVE WITHOUT A STOMACH

The rare, delicate and dangerous operation of gastrectomy was performed on Jacob Wichmann in the German hospital, Brooklyn, recently. It was done to save Mr. Wichmann's life, for he had a cancer of the stomach which would have soon killed him. He well stood the operation, which lasted three hours, and he has a fine chance to live. The surgeons cut through the patient's abdominal walls, and raised the stomach. They then tied the end of the gullet and the beginning of the small intestine. The gullet was cut above, and the beginning of the small intestine was cut below the ligations. The stomach, thus free from its connections, was taken out through the incision in the abdominal walls. The surgeons then sewed together the ends of the gullet and of the small intestine, giving a continuous alimentary canal to Mr. Wichmann. Then the surgeons sewed up the wounds made by the knife.

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Ben Welter

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