Accidents and Operations. 401 



CESOPHAGOTOMY. 



This operation is sometimes necessary, when the means 

 named in the previous section for relief in choking have 

 failed. Mr. A. E. Macgillivray, V.S., Banff, records a case 

 recently,in which oesophagotomy was performed by a medical 

 gentleman : — " The animal being properly and conveniently 

 secured on a table, was put under chloroform, and Dr. J. C. 

 Hirschfeld operated. After making a pretty large cuti- 

 cular incision, and cutting cautiously through the subjacent 

 dermal muscle, the doctor dissected down between the 

 sterno-maxillary and mastoido-humeral muscles of the left 

 eide, and thus on to the obstructed oesophagus behind the 

 trachea; and here it may be remarked that this was the 

 more easily accomplished, owing to the absence in the dog 

 of the omo or subscapulo-hyoidean muscle, which passes 

 (partly crosswise) along the outside of the trachea. Having 

 arrived at and laid bare the obstructed part of the gullet, a 

 pretty free incision was made in the same, and, with much 

 difficulty the doctor extracted two of the coccygeal vertebrae 

 of an ox ! One of these vertebrae measured about two inches 

 across the transverse processes, and nearly an inch and a 

 half vertically ; the other was a little less in size. 



" Dr. Hirschfeld closed up the wound in the oesophagus 

 v/ith continuous sutures of prepared catgut, and the external 

 wound with interrupted sutures of horse-hair. The stitching 

 of the gullet was an extremely difficult job, but was very 

 successfully done. 



" The dog was restricted to entirely fluid sustenance for 

 several days, and the wound kept clean and dressed outside 

 and inside with a weak solution of carbolic acid. 



"A most satisfactory and complete recovery soon ensued, 

 the animal being, apparently, not a whit the worse for the 

 very serious operation."* 



* •' Veterinary Journal," January, 18 



