516 



OBSTETRICAL OPEIIATIONS. 



^ 



living Calf, it is well to attempt it, " as it is better to have a living, if 

 blind, Calf, than a dead one with both its eyes intact." 



But it is rare indeed that the eyes are seriously damaged by fixing 

 the crotchet in their socket ; and innumerable instances testify that, 

 if the foetus is alive, the ocular globe is retracted to the bottom of the 

 cavity when the instrument begins to be inserted, and so escapes 

 injury. Schaack, who has freely resorted to this mode of adjusting 

 the head or neck — in the Sheep and Goat more particularly (the small- 

 ness of the pelvis not allowing any other means to be 

 employed) — describes his manner of operating as follows : 

 " The crotchet I use," says he, " is a solid (or long) one ; 

 the point is blunt and slightly flattened (Fig. 183). When 

 it is desired to pull at the head of the foetal Goat or Lamb, 

 the left hand at first seizes the nose, and the crotchet is 

 fixed in the right orbit ; with the right hand the other 

 instrument is passed into the left orbit, the thumb of the 

 left hand keeping the hook in the other orbit by pressing 

 the stalk against the cheek. In this way I can pull with 

 the two hands on both orbits, so as to keep the nose in a 

 good direction." He has never seen the point of the crotchet 

 cause the slightest injury to the globe of the eye, although 

 he has had, in the majority of cases, to pull very hard. The 

 means has answered very well. And Cartv/right states 

 that "it is astonishing how wounds heal up in the cheek 

 where hooks have been in the orbit. I have had two or 

 three men pulling at the rod (of the crotchet), and the hook 

 did not break out." 



This immunity from injury in the case of the living foetus, 

 does not, however, absolve the operator from exercising all 

 due care in fixing and pulling at the crotchet. The inner 

 aspect of the orbital cavity is the most favourable, and if 

 the foetus is alive, the blunt instrument must be first tried, 

 the sharp-pointed one being kept in reserve until this has failed ; or it 

 may be used at first when the young creature is dead. 



^he, joalatine arch afi'ords a very solid and useful hold for the crotchet, 

 and many obstetrists have successfully utilized it in extracting the 

 foetus ; some authorities — among them is Schaack — asserting that hook- 

 ing this part is easier, and the results more certain and direct, than 

 fixing the instrument in the orbit. The stalk of the crotchet is some- 

 what long; the hook end is passed sideways into the mouth of the 

 foetus, and over the tongue until it gets beyond the palate, when it is 

 turned point upwards and seizes the base of the vomer. A very strong 

 degree of traction can be made on this part without inconvenience to 

 the young creature. It appears to be an excellent situation to plant 

 the crotchet in the Calf — particularly if it be dead, and it is desired to 

 effect extraction as quickly as possible. It may be also employed in 

 the Foal, the only risk being more or less disunion of the palate, which 

 may render sucking difficult or imperfect for a short time after birth. 



Of course, the head must be in a good position either in the inlet or 

 in the genital canal before the crotchet can be placed behind the 

 palate. Traction must also be moderate and steady, and the usual pre- 

 cautions observed. 



3. The Spine. — When embryotomy is practised, or the foetus is dead^ 

 the bodies of the vertebrse or their transverse processes, or the ribs. 



Fig. 183. 



Schaack's 

 Crotchet. 



