42 SPRINGTIME SURGERY 



The operation is carried out in as simple a rou- 

 tine method as possible, keeping in mind at all 

 times these three dangers, viz., casting accidents, 

 prolapse of the bowels and infection. 



Equipment. — The necessary equipment for the 

 operation consists of the following: A casting 

 outfit, scalpel, emasculator and ecraseur, operat- 

 ing sheets, green soap, tablets of bichloride of 

 mercury, finger-nail brush, sterile, dry gauze 

 packs in a sterile container, a trocar, a one-quart 

 bottle, and a large needle and suturing material, 

 preferably linen tape one-fourth inch broad. 



Casting. — For the sake of uniformity of 

 method all patients should be operated upon in 

 the casting harness. The operating table offers 

 no advantages and is not always at hand. The 

 casting harness to use is the one that you are fa- 

 miliar with, providing you are skilled in its use 

 and can adapt it to the operation. Properly con- 

 fining the animal is a larger question than the 

 actual operation, since upon it depends, not only 

 one's success in satisfactorily performing the 

 operation, but also the danger of casting acci- 

 dents, and to a degree the dangers of prolapse of 



