And took only a little while longer for some who had been ruptured as long as fifty years to be cured. You will find, at the back of this book, many letters in proof of this. * * * * * We have seen the Cluthe Truss do so much good for so many other people that we feel sure it can do wonders for you. So sure it will help you, just as it did them that-- as explained in a later chapter-- we are willing to let you test it on sixty days' trial, to prove just how much it can benefit you. _+Don't Let Yourself Be Scared Into Risking An Operation+_ Cluthe Truss Has Done Away with All Need For Operation, Except in Occasional Cases People _used_ to think that an operation was the only way to cure rupture-- thought they had to be cut open. Just as people _used_ to know no better than to undergo _bleeding,_ no matter in what way they were sick. Histories and biographies tell us it was the loss of blood from this barbarous bleeding which led to George Washington's death. But nowadays we never hear of bleeding. Just as fever patients are no longer denied ice water and ice applications. Though, not so many years ago, people were literally allowed to burn up with fever. [Sidenote: Thousands Have Died Under The Surgeon's Knife] Operation for rupture, for reasons stated below has never been much more than a life-or-death chance, even for those with a rugged constitution. Thousands of ruptured people have died under the surgeon's knife. Oftentimes a weak heart-- because of the ether-- makes it unsafe even to attempt operation. And it has always been a big expense which not one in a hundred could afford. Even though it had no dangers, the cost and the long lay-off from work or business make it useless for the majority of sufferers to think of an operation. The reasons operation is so risky for most people are these: The sufferer is seldom in condition for an operation, is run down, the vitality is low-- that is why the muscles over the intestines have weakened and spread. Another grave danger lies in the fact that a very large opening must be made-- many delicate tissues cut through-- before the surgeon can reach the weakened muscles which caused the rupture. Moreover, in a surgical operation, the relaxed muscles are tightened simply by shortening them-- by cutting out a piece. But nothing is done to strengthen these muscles. Nature is in no way assisted. The parts usually remain weak-- that is why, when a man leaves the hospital after an operation for rupture, he is usually told to wear a truss or support. And that is why, in about six out of every ten apparently successful operations, the rupture sooner or later breaks out anew. So we would never advise an operation, save as a last resort. As in strangulated hernia, where there is no hope except through heroic measures.