I02 DISEASES OF SWINE 



of the animal is greatly interfered with and it may 

 become badly stunted. 



,. Treatment. — To relieve a scrotal hernia, it is nec- 

 essary to castrate the hog. The pig should be starved 

 for about a day, as it is easier to operate when the 

 intestines are empty, or nearly so. In small pigs this 

 is not so important. 

 ^ What is known as the covered operation is to be 

 preferred in most cases. The procedure is as fol^ 

 lows : It is best to hang the pig up by the hind legs, 

 or have the assistant hold it in this position in order 

 to relieve the pressure on the scrotum and help in 

 returning the intestines. A needle, ligature, operat- 

 ing knife or scalpel and scissors are the instruments 

 necessary for the operation. These should be disin- 

 fected before beginning to operate and kept in a dis- 

 infectant when not in use. The scrotum is first 

 washed and disinfected and an incision made in its 

 walls. The incision should be made down to the 

 covering of the testicle (tunica vaginalis). This must 

 be done carefully so as to avoid cutting through the 

 tunic. The opening in the scrotum must be plenty 

 large enough to enable the operator to draw the tes- 

 ticle and its coverings outside the sack, and give him 

 room to work. A needle carrying a ligature is passed 

 through the cord and tunic as high up as possible, 

 the needle removed and the parts ligated. The cord 

 and its covering are then cut off about half an inch 

 above the ligature. This completely closes the ab- 

 dominal cavity and there is no chance for the hernia 

 to again occur. 



