Page 8/The Battalion/Tuesday, September 20, 1988
Doctors ‘kill’ patients to save lives
PITTSBURGH (AP) — To save
Ethel St. Lawrence from the an
eurysm pressing on her brain, doc
tors “killed” her for 40 minutes.
They put her in a coma, stopped her
heart, chilled her by 40 degrees and
drained her body of blood.
St. Lawrence was back at work 10
weeks after what she calls “a cotton-
pickin’ miracle,” a sort of suspended
animation that lets surgeons cure
hard-to-reach, high-risk aneurysms
that once were considered inoper
able.
“It is everything that technology
can possibly offer,” said her neuro
surgeon, Dr. Robert Spetzler at Bar-
row Neurological Institute in Phoe
nix.
“It may be the surgery of the fu
ture in cases where bleeding poses
the greatest risk to the operation,”
Dr. Julian E. Bailes, a neurosurgeon
at Allegheny General Hospital here
who studied with Spetzler, said.
“That’s the biggest cause of death in
surgery. If you could put someone
in a state of suspended animation,
you could operate in a totally blood
less field.”
In a severely cold, bloodless state,
the brain can be deprived of oxygen
up to 55 minutes, giving surgeons
time to remove the aneurysm — a
bubble caused by weakness in the
wall of a blood vessel — and clip ar
teries feeding it without the danger
of massive bleeding and certain
death. .
Of 15 patients who have under
gone the procedure at Barrow, only
one has died, Bailes said. Most had
“excellent” results, a few reported
some weakness but otherwise did
well, and most remained in a coma
no more than five days.
“It’s getting through the surgery,”
said Dr. Steven Shedd, a Barrow
neuroanesthesiologist who was in
volved in St. Lawrence’s operation.
“If you’ve tolerated the procedure
and you wake up, you’re going to be
OK.”
But the risks, including that the
heart won’t restart, are too great to
use the procedure where normal an
esthesia can adequately do the job.
And because the patient has to be
taken to the point of clinical death
for the operation to succeed, doctors
approach it with “a lot of respect,”
said Shedd. “Every time I do one of
these I get very nervous.
“You’re taking a patient that’s al
ive and breathing and stopping their
hearts and putting them into this
state.
“They are nothing. There is no
breathing, no heart function. The
brain function is nil. We tilt the table
up and drain all the blood into the
pump.”
St. Lawrence, a 61-year-old Phoe
nix secretary, was rushed to Barrow
on June 2, suffering from a severe
two-day headache and unable to
open her right eye. Tests showed
that a sinus aneurysm detected four
years ago had grown.
Partly because of heavy doses of
barbiturates given before surgery to
help prevent stroke or brain dam
age, St. Lawrence recalls nothing
about the June 6 operation. But she
does recall experiencing a very
strong sensation.
“I just had this immense feeling
that I was being cared for. It felt like
somebody was just holding me in
their arms and taking care of me and
that I would be OK. It wasjust a feel
ing of peace.”
Four months after surgery, she
needs no medication and the severe
headaches are gone, though she still
is unable to fully open her eye.
Bailes is confounded, though, by
Cecilia Duffy, a 76-year-old Pitts
burgh woman who spent 51 minutes
in suspended animation Aug. 31
while surgeons removed an egg-
sized aneurysm that had almost com
pletely disabled her.
Duffy hasn’t come out of the
drug-induced coma, even though
her brain activity is improving, there
is no evidence of brain injury, and
she moves her legs when stimulated.
“Quite frankly, I’m worried about
her because 1 would have thought
she would have come out of it by
now,” Bailes said.
“As we go longer it’s more likely
she will have suffered some stroke,
some sort of (brain) injury.”
Newspaper agrees to charges of misquoting
AUSTIN (AP) — A newspaper
agreed Monday with Texas Railroad
Commission member Jim Nugent
that a recent article quoted him in
correctly concerning his fund-rais
ing methods.
The story in Sunday’s editions of
the San Antonio Express-News was
the basis for a charge Monday by Ed
Emmett, the Republican candidate
for Nugent’s seat, that Nugent’s pur
ported solicitation of contributions
from those who appear before the
commission is “unethical” and
“amounts to extortion.”
The article said Nugent, during a
meeting with the Express-News edi
torial board, commented: “We get a
list of those who come before the
commission and we send them let
ters asking them to help out with the
campaign.”
In response to Emmett’s charges,
Nugent denied saying that.
His actual comment, the Demo
cratic incumbent told the Associated
Press, was that his staff purchased
copies of a list from the secretary of
state’s office of people who had con
tributed to Railroad Commission
campaigns in the past. His staff then
sent off letters to those individuals,
he said.
In a statement Monday night, Ex
press-News assistant managing edi
tor Jay Rogers confirmed Nugent’s
account.
“Nugent’s comment was that he
got a list of people who had contrib
uted to previous Railroad Commis
sion candidates and solicited cam
paign contributions from them. He
pointed out there was nothing illegal
about that practice,” Rogers said.
“It is unfortunate he did not bring
the matter to our attention," Rogers
said. “It is our policy to run correc
tions if we had erroneous statements
in our paper.”
Emmett, a former state represen
tative from Harris County, called a
news conference Monday to cite the
article.
Piano concert
dazzles crowil
of 200 at A&l
By Andrea L. Warrenbui;
Reporter
Werner Rose, pianist and caA
nator of music in the DepartitifjE
Philosophy and Humanities,opJ
the University Chamber Serieij
son last night with his debutptl
mance in Rudder Theater l]
crowd of more than 200.
T he crowd was dazzled
pieces by Domenico Scarlatti, L
Bartok, Franz Liszt andJnliJ|
B rahms.
Sonata in F Minor fromOpuslp
Johannes Brahms was called a
cial piece” by Rose. Brahmswi
from inspiration of romantict
Rose said. Sitting tall at thcl
board, he brought its variationij
with powerful precision and
tion.
Rose also played an exciting J
by composer and Texas A&Mt
taut coordinator of music, Dr.
Lieu wen. “Sonatina” composfllj
1981 was a fast, dynamic piece
complimented Rose’s quietness
Lieu wen’s talent. The crowd's
proval brought Lieuwen on statt|
ter Rose finished the piece.
Rose came to A&M in JuiK§f|
spearhead the developmentofii
in the College of Liberal Artsi
22-year tenure at the Universiitj
Wyoming.
Lieuwen arrived shortly
from the University of Califoi
Santa Barbara.
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