CASE.—Private George A. Shaffer, Co. D, 190th
Pennsylvania Volunteers, aged 19 years, was
wounded at Five Forks, Virginia, April 1st, 1865,
by a conoidal ball, which fractured the parietal
bones at the junction of the coronal and the
sagittal sutures, the fracture extending back
about three inches over the sagittal suture. He
was on the next day admitted to the hospital of
the Fifth Corps, and on April 4th sent to the
Lincoln Hospital at Washington. There was but
slight evidence of compression, but on April 6th,
he complained of pain in the head; the pupils
became dilated, and coma supervened. He was placed
under the influence of ether. Surgeon J. C. McKee, U. S. A., then made a crucial incision at right
angles to the parietal suture and removed the
fragments, revealing the dura mater intact. The
patient was kept quiet in a recumbent position,
cold applications were made to the head, and low
diet ordered. He recovered, and was discharged
from the service on a surgeon's certificate of
disability on June 24th, 1865. See Photographs of
Surgical Cases, Vol. III, page 10. He is a
pensioner. The case is reported by Surgeon J. C. McKee, U. S. A.