CASTRATION U¥ STALLIONS. 203 



lotion until suppuration ceases. If after removal of the clams the 

 horse is turned out the scrotum may not require further attention. 

 When fever, or much post-operative swelling cccurs, the wounds 

 should be opened with the disinfected hand, and thoroughly washed 

 out with an antiseptic fluid. 



(b) Division of the Spermatic Cord with the Actual Cautery. A 

 second method, frequently used in the horse, consists in dividing 

 the spermatic cord with the actual cautery. It has already been 

 described (p. 189), and has the advantages over castration with clams 

 that it is aseptic, and that operation is at once complete. Provided 

 proper care be taken, secondary bleeding is rare, and the local reaction, 

 evinced by swelling, etc., is seldom more marked than after other 

 methods. Care must be taken, however, to make the incision in 

 the scrotum and tunica vaginalis reflexa sufficiently large to ensure 

 free drainage. 



(c) Torsion of the Spermatic Cord if carefully performed is also 

 a reliable method, and has the great advantage of rendering a second 

 visit to the patient unnecessary. Moller and many others recommend 

 this method for castrating stallions, and it is largely practised in 

 Germany. Operation by torsion seems less painful than castration 

 with clams, which, even when skilfully carried out, must cause a 

 certain strain on the spermatic cord. Moreover, healing is more 

 rapid after torsion. In torsion the stump of the cord seldom becomes 

 necrotic ; and severe swelling, so marked after castration with clams, 

 is relatively uncommon, and scirrhous cord is a rare sequel. 



The chief and practically the only objection to this method 

 consists hi the danger of secondary haemorrhage. By using proper 

 forceps, and operating carefully, bleeding can, however, be reduced 

 to a minimum, even in the case of old horses. Nevertheless the 

 owner's attention should be drawn to the fact that slight bleeding 

 may occur, though it is seldom of much importance. When bleeding 

 occurs it can be stopped by the application of artery forceps to the 

 vessel, or by ligating the cord. 



(d) Castration with the Ecraseur. In America and England the 

 ecraseur has been much used for castrating stallions. After exposing 

 the testicle and spermatic cord the chain of the ecraseur is passed 

 over the testicle and slowly drawn tight, dividing the cord just above 

 the epididymis. The method has found acceptance at the hands 

 of many practical men, though it seems to possess no particular- 

 advantage over carefully performed torsion. 



(e) Castration with the Emasculator. In England and the 

 Colonies the emasculator is becoming rapidly popular as a very 



