Lincoln Grandchildren & G-Grandchildren

[STS Lincolnite]

Roger, I can't see in the photo clearly, but it does look as though he has perhaps a bandage of some sort on his arm.

It is hard to determine what the French doctors could have done differently without knowing exactly what they did (or more precisely how they did it). As Eva said, once the infection had set in, there was probably not much they could do except monitor and support his immune system in fighting of the infection (eating the right foods, resting, etc.).

The best way to fight infection is to never let it happen. When doing a surgical procedure, that means using antiseptic technique (both with the procedure itself and with the post-procedure bandaging and care). At that time, use of antiseptic technique had not been universally accepted. Joseph Lister began publishing on the subject in the late 1860's but it took much longer for many phyiscians to accept the practice. Take for example President Garfield's physicians in early 1880s. Their failure to use the practice likely contributed to his death if not caused it outright. When Jack died in 1890 it may be that the doctors Jack had in France had not yet accepted the practice and failed to use it when lancing his carbuncle. In England, it's use was much more widely accepted and use far more prevelant at the time. That may be why it had been mentioned that the French doctors did not treat him correctly and if he had received his initial treatment in England he would have survived. But as Eva said, once the infection had set in and begun to spread from the initial wound, there was little that could be medically done at the time - so English physicians could do little to nothing either at the point they got involved.