UMBILICAL HERNIA. 727 



In Germany, Strauss's apparatus is in vogue. This likewise consists of 

 girths disposed in a similar manner, with a kind of martingale to prevent 

 them gliding backwards. If a pad is used, Lafosse recommends that it 

 should not be too convex or elevated in the middle. 



Armatage advises the employment of a similar arrangement or harness, 

 which furnishes a compress at the proper part; it is merely a number of 

 straps, capable of being shortened or lengthened, as may be necessary in 

 order to fit animals of different sizes (Fig. 210). 



It usually requires from one to three months to effect a cure, the period 

 depending chiefly on the size of the hernia. A tonic regime hastens re- 

 covery. 



Some veterinary surgeons combine agglutinative agents with the use of 

 the truss — employing, for instance, a pad steeped in a mixture of pitch 

 and turpentine. 



Before the truss is applied, it is, of course, necessary to reduce the 

 hernia, and place the pad exactly over the umbilical opening. 



Trusses are chiefly objectionable from the long time they must remain 

 on the animal, and the tightness with which they must be applied in or- 

 der to act beneficially. This inconveniences and often injures the young 

 creature, and not unfrequently causes it to fret, impairs its appetite, and 

 induces loss of condition ; and though highly recommended by Marlot, 

 Lafosse, Perosino, Schreger, Strauss, Ungefrohrn, and many others, they 

 are not always to be preferred to other methods of treatment. 



2. Topical Applications. — Topical applications have been for cen- 

 turies employed for the cure of hernia, Celsus having recommended the 

 use of sulphuric acid, which was resorted to at a later period by the early 

 hippiatrists : and since 1833, when it was brought to notice by Hertwig, 

 it has been used in Germany, being applied to the tumor every two or 

 three days. The subcutaneous serous infiltration, and the plastic exuda- 

 tion in the hernial sac, drive the misplaced viscera into the abdomen, and 

 in becoming absorbed afterwards, produce obliteration of the cavity and 

 its opening. Blisters act in the same way ; and applications of alcohol, 

 creosote water, and other agents, have been largely resorted to. But Gi- 

 rard, D'Arboval, Benard, and Mignon have asserted that these topical ap- 

 plications were very uncertain, and even dangerous, as the irritation they 

 produced readily causes adhesion between the w^all of the sac and the or- 

 gans it contained, and thus rendered reduction impossible. 



But in 1848, Dayot, and more recently other veterinarians, had drawn 

 attention to the value of nitric acid cauterization in umbilical hernia. 

 The acid is applied to the skin covering the tumor until at first an eschar 

 is formed, and, finally, detachment of the cutaneous hernial sac is achieved. 

 In order to effect this, the hair is removed from the skin, and by means 

 of a spun-glass brush or cotton-wool fixed on a glass rod, nitric acid of 

 commerce is applied around the base of the tumor at first ; then over the 

 other part it is used in sufficient quantity, and with friction, so as to de- 

 stroy the skin and ensure its speedy mortification and sloughing. Expe- 

 rience has proved that the more profound the disorganization, the more 

 certain is the beneficial action. According to Lafosse, it requires from 

 24 to 32 grammes of acid for a hernial tumor the size of a fist; and the 

 friction, which ought to be as equable as possible over the whole surface, 

 should be continued for three to five minutes — supposing the animal to 

 be quiet and the rubbing not interrupted. A smaller quantity of acid 



