2t<i WOUNDS AND BRUISES OF THE LIPS. 



Treatment. In surface injuries, small flaps of skin can be removed 

 with scissors, when healing usually follows. To prevent deformity 

 following extensive injury, attempts should be made to bring about 

 healing by first intention. After removing loose shreds, the wound, 

 which is usually dry, must be freshened, i.e., the surface removed 

 with the scalpel to furnish the moist or bleeding flaps necessary for 

 immediate union. The wound and its surroundings are then cleansed, 

 the neighbouring long hair removed, the parts flooded with some 

 fluid disinfectant, and the edges brought together as evenly and 

 completely as possible. On account of the great mobility of 

 the lips, pin sutures are here preferable. The pins should be 

 inserted deeply and at distances of about \ to 1 inch, being 

 secured by a continuous thickish thread applied in a figure-of-8. 

 Ordinary sutures sometimes suffice. For further security, and to 

 fix the edges, the wound may be smeared with collodion or wound 

 gelatine, over which may be placed tow, jute, or strips of 

 gauze. 



Deep wounds at the corners of the mouth or on the cheeks require 

 particular precautions. Button sutures are most useful, and the 

 thread, which must be strong, should be passed right through the 

 cheek ; lead or brass wire is also suitable. Injury to the wound can 

 be avoided by putting the horse on the pillar reins. Where healing 

 by primary intention is desired, water alone must be given for the 

 first 24 hours, and during the following few days only gruel or bran 

 mash. After six to eight days the stitches can be removed from 

 the lips, but those in the corner of the mouth or in the cheek should 

 be left a couple of days longer. In fistula about the cheeks the 

 hardened walls are removed by caustics or the actual cautery, and 

 a purse-string suture inserted. The inner opening of the fistula may 

 sometimes be closed by passing a suture through the mucous 

 membrane. 



(2.) ACUTE INFLAMMATION OF THE LIPS AND CHEEKS. 



Acute inflammation of the lips in the domesticated animals is 

 frequently caused by licking blistering ointments, by irritating 

 materials, by infectious disorders, like aphtha or stomatitis 

 pustulosa, or by such injuries as have previously been referred to. 



Specific inflammations are treated of in works on internal disorders. 

 Dogs, being much exposed to infection, sometimes show cellular 

 inflammation of the upper and lower lips after slight injuries. 



