Fig. 297.— Tail Cautery. 



AMPUTATIONS. 281 



either case attempts may be made to ligate or to employ torsion 

 of the arteries, but the hemostatic generally employed is the actual 

 cautery. The tail-cautery, heated to nearly a white heat, is firmly 

 held upon the truncated tail for a few seconds until it has stopped 



the hemorrhage. To assist this 

 process and obtain the formation 

 of a thicker scab, certain com- 

 bustible substances are some- 

 times placed upon the wound 

 before the cautery is apphed, to 

 increase the heat by their igni- 

 tion. A ring of hair or a little pulverized resin may be employed 

 for this purpose. 



We have before noted that in this measure of hemostasia there 

 is much that is repulsive and coarse, and that it is not at all in har- 

 mony with the spirit of modern scientific surgery, and we have 

 long felt a conviction that a great improvement is possible in the 

 manipvdation of such a case. We have, therefore, made the matter 

 one of careful experimentation, and the conclusion we have reached 

 is that the following course of procedure will meet all the indica- 

 tions and fulfil all the purposes contemplated, and at the same time 

 avoid the comphcations Ukely to occur, and obviate the objections 

 of the sensitive and the timid, besides securing results entirely 

 satisfactory to all the parties concerned. 



First, to render the operation painless, we inject cocaine at two 

 or three points in the circumference of the tail skin. Then, around 

 the tail, and above the ring made by clipping the hair, as before 

 mentioned, to mark the place of amjDutation, we place a narrow 

 elastic band at a tension merely sufficient to stop the hemorrhage. 

 Having waited for the full effect of the anesthetic, and accurately 

 identified the center of the articulation between two of the vertebrae 

 through which we intend to amputate, with a strong and sharp 

 bistoury we make rapidly a circular incision of the skin entirely 

 around the tail, and, if possible, divide the causcle with a single 

 stroke through the intervertebral ligament. With a little care and 

 practice the amputation may be completed in a few seconds, and 

 there remains at the end of the tail but a smooth, perfectly blood- 

 less stump. We cover the fresh surface with a dressing powder, 

 antiseptic, caustic or astringent as indicated, and leave the patient 

 eating his oats as he had been doing during the operation, unaware 



