410 OPERATIONS ON THE DIGESTIVE APPARATUS. 



also advised a subcutaneous herniotomy, which was put into prac- 

 tice afterwards by Siegen & Verrier, in which the careful puncture 

 of the sac was made at the origin, or, preferably, at the flabelli- 

 form insertion of the cremaster. After enlarging the opening, the 

 index finger is introduced into the neck, carrying with it the blunt 

 bistoury with which the structure is divided, and the reduction is 

 completed by the taxis, the wound being closed by several points 

 of suture. The use of antiseptics in our day obviates a large 

 portion of the danger arising from the comphcations which may 

 follow these modes of operation. 



The operation for strangulated hernia in the gelding does not 

 differ much from that indicated for stallions, except in the man- 

 ner of closing the wounds, the clamp, in this class of patients, 

 being apphed upon the hernial sac, involving the skin, as is done 

 in some cases of treatment for umbilical hernia. 



The treatment of the patient subsequently to the operation is 

 generally a simple matter, the violent coUcs, -svith other manifesta- 

 tions of the hernia, having suddenly subsided, and the patient 

 being comparatively free from pain. He will probably give evi- 

 dence of some sHght abdominal uneasiness, which will j)robably 

 be due to the pressure of the clamp upon the testicular cord, but 

 this will not be of long duration, probably requiring no other at- 

 tention than a moderate walking exercise. 



The animal is then turned loose in a box stall and placed upon 

 a diet suited to his case, and watched for future developments. 

 The wound requires no special attention but cleanhness, and 

 towards the fifth or sixth day, when the suppuration is estab- 

 lished, the clamp can be removed. 



It is about this time that comphcations may be looked for. A 

 fatal peritonitis, for example, may apjpear between the fifth and 

 tenth day, when everything has seemed to be progressing favor- 

 ably, and bid defiance to treatment, especially if the intestines 

 were already in a gangrenous condition when the reduction was 

 made. After ten days there need be no more fear of complica- 

 tions, so far as the hernia is concerned, but it is not yet too late 

 for those of castration, which may still occur. The duration of 

 convalescence will average from twenty to twenty-five days, after 

 which the animal can resume his work. A return of the hernia, 

 recidlve, is a rare and almost impossible event when the reduction 

 has been completed by castration. 



