NEUROTOMY. 



163 



unnerved parts are not rested as they would be in natural 

 conditions when injured, and as a result reparative changes 

 are prevented and supplanted by retrograde processes with 

 ultimate death of the part and of the animal. 



In other words sensory neurotomy robs an organ or tissue 

 of the enormously conservative force of pain. Pain causes 

 the animal to rest the affected part, protects the painful 

 tissues against disintegrating and destructive insults and 

 favors restorative processes ; robbed of this protective in- 

 fluence of pain by the severance of the sensory nerves, the 

 diseased tissues are without their natural protection. 



Nerves are generally accompanied by satellite arteries and 

 veins which are always liable to be wounded during the 

 neurotomj^ and are more embarassing because of the hemor- 

 rhage clouding the operation field and inviting error than 

 dangerous because of the loss of the blood itself. It is 

 essential to a good operation that the hemorrhage be kept 

 under control throughout so that each tissue will stand out 

 in relief and the nerve reveal its identity in addition to its 

 location, size and relations, by its intensely white, nacrous, 

 striated character. The test of compressing the nerve in 

 order to identify it by the resultant pain is unsurgical and 

 unnecessarily cruel. 



Sepsis holds an important place in considering the dangers 

 of neurotomy because the infection of a sensitive nerve 

 causes very great pain and if considerable, tends to cause a 

 false neuroma or fibroma in the connective tissue of the 

 nerve trunk, calling for a second operation in order to re- 

 move the tumor, and resultant lameness. 



Neurotomies should consequently be performed only in 

 properly selected cases, the smallest possible trunk that will 

 sufficiently relieve the pain should be selected for the opera- 

 tion, it should be performed with due regard for suffering 

 and for asepsis, should be performed quickly and neatly, the 

 incisions being free, laying the nerve trunk bare without 

 tearing up the tissues and clouding them and at every point 

 aim at celerity, accuracy and neatness. 



