|
W.W. Keen and President Cleveland's Secret Operation
During his lifetime, the medical reputation of William Williams Keen (1837-1932) almost equaled that of Samuel D. Gross. A graduate of Philadelphia's Central High School and Brown University (1859), Keen studied medicine at Jefferson Medical College receiving his MD in 1862. Commissioned acting Assistant Surgeon for the US Army during the Civil War, Keen's military activity also included World War I (his services were declined during the Spanish-American War). While a noted surgeon and respected medical practitioner, it was Keen's connection to the secret operation on President Grover Cleveland in 1893 that brought him the greatest attention.
Shortly after entering his 2nd term of office in 1893, President Cleveland's physician, Dr. R.M. O'Reilly, found an ulcer on the roof of the President's mouth about the size of a quarter. Tissue samples indicated a malignancy. When Congress recessed on June 30, Cleveland made a decision. He would have surgery on his cancerous mouth during the six-week interim. Cleveland insisted, however, that the operation be kept absolutely secret from the public as well as his cabinet and that there be no visible traces of it when he addressed Congress on August 7.
July 1 was chosen as the date for the operation. To maintain secrecy, the President left the White House with a small group of advisors. This included his friend Dr. Joseph D. Bryant of New York, chief surgeon for the operation. They secretly traveled by train to New York where they boarded Commodore E. C. Benedict's yacht the Oneida docked in the East River, which then set out for the Long Island Sound.
During the operation, Dr. Bryant was assisted by Dr. W.W. Keen, Jr. as well as:
- Dr. R.M. O'Reilly
- Dr. Edward G. Janeway, a prominent physiologist
- Dr. John F. Erdmann, Dr. Bryant's assistant
- Dr. Ferdinand Hasbrouck, a young dentist experienced in the administration of the then new anesthetic, nitrous oxide
In the main cabin's improvised operating room, Dr. Hasbrouck first removed two bicuspid teeth. Next surgeons Bryant and Keen removed the entire upper left jaw and a portion of the soft palate. The surgery was more extensive than the two surgeons anticipated because the antrum was partially filled with a gelatinous mass, apparently a sarcoma. The operation left a gaping hole in the President's mouth that made his speech unintelligible. Later, Dr. Kasson C. Gibson, a New York orthodontist, fashioned an artificial vulcanite prosthesis for his jaw, which solved the problem. To avoid an external scars, the entire operation was performed inside the mouth using a cheek retractor.
 |
|
Tumor taken from President Grover Cleveland along with cheek retractor used by W.W. Keen during the operation; Photograph courtesy of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia
|
When President Cleveland reached his summer home in Cape Cod, the anxious press was told that he had been treated for two ulcerated teeth and for a recurrence of pedal rheumatism. Even after a second operation on July 17th, Cleveland addressed Congress on August 7th without any signs of illness or difficulty speaking. The public was never officially told about the actual extent of the surgery during Cleveland's lifetime.
However, on 29 August 1893, journalist E.J. Edwards published a piece in the Philadelphia Press stating that Cleveland had undergone a much more serious operation then formally announced. Many of the details in Edwards' story were correct as now known. However, all the physicians involved with the operation downplayed the seriousness of the situation as much as possible. The reason being that the United States was in the midst of a serious financial crisis (both internally and abroad) regarding gold vs. silver as a currency standard. Cleveland felt that if the seriousness of his condition was made public, panic would strike the nation.
Not until Keen published his article, The Surgical Operations on President Cleveland in 1893, in the Saturday Evening Post was the public formally appraised of the actual operation. In the forward of the book publication of the piece, Keen stated that it had always been Bryant's intention to publish a full account of the Cleveland operation. Bryant's death in 1914 left the task unfinished. Since many of the participants were now deceased, Keen felt it was his responsibility to furnish an accurate account. In addition, publication of the article vindicated E.J Edwards who had suffered for years under the epithets of "Fakir" and "Calamity liar".
For a full account of the operation on President Cleveland, read W. W. Keen's book The Surgical Operations on President Cleveland in 1893. The book is part of the Jeffersonian collection in the University Archives and Special Collections.
To learn about the connection between Jefferson physicians and other US presidents, check out "Polyps and Presidents", an exhibit on the 2nd floor of the Scott Library.
Related Links:
|
