DISEASES OF THE LATEEAL CAETILAGES 349 



Where a countsr-opening is thus made it is found that it 

 very readily closes with granulation tissue, and the purpose 

 for which it was made defeated. This may be avoided by 

 the use of a seton. In preference to the seton, however, we 

 ourselves would advise that the opening be kept free by the 

 occasional use of a sharp-edged director or a fine scalpel. 



An interesting modification of the practice of making 

 a counter -opening is that related by Veterinary - Captain 

 S. M. Smith.* In point of severity it runs a middle course 

 between the making of a simple counter-opening and the 

 removal of a wedge-shaped portion of the coronary band 

 and the wall, a method which we shall later describe. 



To perform this operation, the animal is cast and chloro- 

 formed. The foot is fixed and the parts thoroughly cleansed. 

 The horn of the wall is then sawed through in a direct line 

 from the coronary margin to the solar edge, the saw-line 

 running exactly over the seat of the sinus. 



A strong scalpel is now introduced at the coronary opening, 

 with its cutting-edge outwards, and is graduallj^ passed 

 down the opening made by the saw. In this way the sinus 

 is completely destroyed, and from end to end converted into 

 an open wound. The parts are then washed in a perchloride 

 of mercury solution, covered with a mixture of powdered 

 iodoform and boracic acid, over which a pledget of carbolized 

 tow is placed, and then a bandage over the whole. This 

 dressing should be left on three or four days, after which 

 the injury should be treated as an ordinary wound. In 

 conclusion, the author says : ' I can safely recommend this 

 line of treatment to any practitioner having an obstinate 

 case under treatment.' 



Removal of the Wall and Excision of the Xecrotic Tissue. 

 — This we may term the radical operation for sub-horny 

 quittor, for it is often productive of a successful issue when 

 all other means have failed. No matter in what position 

 the sinus is, whether at the extreme anterior portion of the 

 coronet, or whether in the region of the heels, it is to be 

 thoroughly opened up. To do this, the fistula is carefully 

 * Veterinary Record, vol. ii., p. 157. 



