SURGERY OF TUMORS 491 



Tampons of tow which have hoon saturated in a solution of chloride 

 of iron and injections (where there is an opening) of subsulphate of iron, 

 1 to 90. 



This palliative method is only indicated where a radical operation 

 cannot be performed from some cause or location of the tumor and where 

 the owner wishes to keep the animal alive as long as possible without 

 surgical interference. 



The methods of radical removal of a tumor are as follows (these do 

 not include torsion or twisting) : 



Ligation. — This method may be applied in all cases where the base 

 of the tumor is not too broad and if it has not penetrated deeply into 

 the tissues. It is useful in many forms of warts, fibromas, and sarcomas; 

 but, as a rule, it is objectionable because it acts slowly, is extremely 

 painful, produces great inflammation with suppuration, and the tumor 

 has a tendency to return. The general mode of procedure in this opera- 

 tion is to ligate the base of the tumor with a strong silk thread or rubber 

 band wound several times. These growths can also be subdivided by 

 means of the ecraseur, using either the chain or wire. The chain of the 

 ecraseur is put around the base of the tumor and greatly tightened by 



Fig. 177. — Wire ecraseur. 



means of the instrument, when the tissues are gradually crushed. The 

 writer has used the wire-loop shown in its simplest form in Fig. 177 

 for the removal of epulides. The bleeding, as a rule, is very slight if 

 the crushing is done slowly, but there is always clanger of a recurrence 

 of this condition. We must, therefore, touch the open space left after 

 the removal of the tumor with a thermo-cautery. 



Cauterization. — We may destroy tumors of the cutaneous or mucous 

 membrane, flat warts, etc., by means of the thermo-cautery, or we may 

 use some of the various cauterizing substances. The thermo-cautery 

 has the advantage of being kept at an even heat for a long time, and on 

 account of this steadiness is especially valuable in controlling hemorrhages 



The caustic chemical substances, such as burnt alum, caustic potash, 

 sulphate of copper, chromic acid, chloride of zinc, and nitric acid, are not 

 especially valuable in the therapeutic treatment of tumors. 



Removal — Extirpation. — This method is the best one to follow in 

 all large tumors which are easily reduced. Various modifications are 

 possible, according to the form and location of the tvimor, but the follow- 

 ing is the general mode of procedure: 



In making the incision the cut should be made by an ordinary 

 scalpel between the tumor and soft parts, making the incision, if possible, 



