2 OPERATIVE TECHNIQUE. 



operations and operations which may be deferred ; of operations on 

 the skin, the muscles, bones, tendons, and so forth ; operations on the 

 head, neck, trunk, etc., names which require no explanation. Urgent 

 operations are such as cannot be postponed without gravely endanger- 

 ing life. 



The indications and contra-indications for operation must be 

 carefully studied. Beginners are not infrequently over hasty in this 

 respect. For instance they declare an operation indispensable ; the 

 owner refuses his consent, and nevertheless healing results under simple 

 treatment, or even without any treatment at all. The cliniques are 

 perhaps somewhat to blame for this, as only severe cases which must 

 be operated on are usually brought there, and even though in each 

 case the special grounds which render operation indispensable are set 

 forth, the student is apt to retain only a general impression, such as of a 

 tumour and of the subsequent operation, forgetting the explanatory 

 remarks. Such mistakes are made at lirst by everyone. Except in 

 the case of urgent operations, like tracheotomy, operation for strangu- 

 lated hernia, etc., it is first necessary to carefully consider whether the 

 animal's value, its chance of perfect recovery, and the probable dura- 

 tion of its convalescence, justify operation at all. The need for 

 operation and the dangers it implies must be clearly placed before the 

 owner. A wise practitioner, however, will not, except in very urgent 

 circumstances, insist on immediately operating for fear of prejudicing 

 his client, but after a moderate expression of opinion will wait, knowing 

 that the failure of other means will finally force the owner himself to 

 . demand operation. Definite promises should never be made in order to 

 gain the owner's consent, for, considering the extreme variability of 

 wound-healing, results can never be foretold with absolute certainty. 

 When it can only have a temporary good effect and the disease is likely to 

 return, when improvement is only to be obtained by sacrificing the 

 animal's usefulness, or when the patient's strength is too greatly 

 reduced, the practitioner's duty is clearly to deprecate operation even 

 if called upon to perform it. In the last connection dogs suffering 

 from generalised cancer are often submitted for operation in an extremely 

 emaciated state. Should they die under the operator's hands the fact 

 is related to the surgeon's discredit without any reference to the other 

 circumstances. 



Planning the Operation. — Before performing any operation the 

 operator should mentally enact the details of each of the proposed stages. 

 I will attempt, for instance, to suggest the mental process before the 

 extirpation of a tumour. The tumour is situated thus ; its rela- 

 tions are ; it is of character. It is situated near the 



