Dr. Ceriani checks the blood pressure of 85-year-old Thomas Mitchell, who came to the hospital with a gangrenous leg. Knowing that Mitchell might not be strong enough to ensure the necessary amputation, Ceriani had been postponing surgery.
When Mitchell finally rallied, the doctor gently carried him from the basement ward up to the operating room of the hospital, which had no elevator.
Dr. Ceriani gives the 85-year-old man spinal anesthesia before amputating his gangrenous left leg.
Not published in LIFE. Doctor Ceriani checks 4-year-old Jimmy Free’s foot, cut when the boy stepped on broken glass.
