DISPLACEMENT OF THE TREGNANT UTERUS 169 



methods. There is no reason to fear peritonitis provided the 

 operation is artfully performed ; reduction also is not always 

 as difficult as one may think. Franck, Goring, advise to make 

 a close examination of the genital passage, before operating, in 

 order to convince ourselves whether the animal has been 

 abused previously or not. This is excellent advice and may 

 save the veterinarian disagreeable moments, as the owner may 

 later blame the operation for any accident which might follow 

 it. 



After completing retroversion, the abdominal wound is 

 stitched and treated, as discussed further on. Explorations to 

 see whether parturition is possible should immediately follow 

 the closing of the wound, and as a rule the hand can enter the 

 uterus and reach the calf. Parturition ought to be brought to 

 a close as soon as possible, but without too much traction, 

 remembering eventual injuries which might have occurred 

 during retroversion. 



Whether the os uteri is open or closed after retroversion 

 depends on the time during which torsion took place. In 

 torsion occurring at the time the cervix uteri dilated, the os 

 uteri is almost wide open after detorsion. Pains and the 

 mechanical action of the water-bag then take care of complete 

 dilatation, so that parturition may be done successfully. This 

 is the usual course in practice. 



When torsion occurs a few days before the end of gestation 

 — that is, with a closed os uteri — pains, the consequence of a 

 disturbed circulation, manifest themselves. After reducing the 

 abnormal position, the os uteri is found impervious. Now two 

 possibilities exist : The pains cease, as the cause, the dis- 

 turbed circulation, has been corrected, and in due time normal 

 birth follows, or the pains continue and the cervix uteri opens 

 after a while in the ordinary manner. 



Felder reports two cases of the first kind. The one 

 happened in a cow where torsion was corrected by rolling the 

 animal and fixing the calf through the vaginal walls. Five 

 weeks and a half later she gave birth to a healthy calf, enjoying 

 good health during all that time. 



