APPENDIX 129 



operative field, dry the surface and paint the skin 

 with tincture of iodin. The operator should have in 

 readiness all necessary equipment, including working 

 solution, silk or linen cord, vulsellum forceps, pincers 

 for amputating points of skewers, scissors and skewers. 

 One may employ ordinary hat pins for skewers as they 

 may be easily and almost painlessly passed through 

 the tissues and are in every way desirable when steril- 

 ized. The skin over the most pendent part of the cul- 

 de-sac is grasped with a pair of vulsellum forceps and 

 as soon as the relaxation of the abdominal wall occurs, 

 an assistant is instructed to employ sufficient traction 

 by means of forceps that an equal amount of tension 

 is exerted upon all parts of the pouched tissues. It is 

 desirable to tense these structures, enabling the oper- 

 ator to insert the skewers so that they will be situated 

 directly over the hernia and not on one side of it 

 when the animal is in a standing position. The base 

 of the pouch is grasped and two skewers are pushed 

 through the tissues at right angles with one another 

 and as near the abdominal aperture as possible. This 

 is done with care, after all ectopic structures have 

 been replaced. 



A heavy cord is applied above the skewers and 

 the base of the pouched tissues is firmly ligated. An 

 elastic band may be applied over the cord to hasten 

 sloughing of the ligatured mass. The sharp points of 

 the skewers are removed with suitable cutters and the 

 operation is completed. No special after-care is re- 

 quired and sloughing of the strangulated mass takes 

 place in from one to three weeks. In some few in- 

 stances, because of desiccation of tissue, considerable 

 local infection and suppuration may ensue, necessitat- 

 ing removal by torsion and traction, the tardily seques- 



