2 CANINE AND FELINE SURGERY 



allow it, some intestinal antiseptic (such as chinosol, izal, 

 calomel, carbolic acid, ^-naphthol, etc.) should be adminis- 

 tered every four or six hours for three or four consecutive 

 days previously. 



Immediately before some operations it is necessary? to 

 repeat the enema and to withdraw the urine by the aid of 

 a catheter. A light meal of finely-divided solid food or a 

 quantity of beef-tea or milk is advisable about seven or eight 

 hours before anassthetization. \'omiting during, or when 

 recovering from, the application of chloroform, so frequently 

 met with in human patients under similar conditions, is very 

 rare in the dog and cat. The author has only met with it in 

 eight or ten instances out of more than a thousand closely 

 recorded administrations of chloroform (see Chapter IV.). It 

 is generally due to the presence of solid food in the stomach. 



After an operation under anaesthesia the patient should be 

 put in a quiet place where there is plenty of fresh air, and 

 allowed to recover. The eyes, nostrils, and mouth should be 

 sponged with cold water, care being taken that none of it 

 gets into the back of the mouth. On no account should 

 stimulants or other fluids be administered in any quantity 

 down the throat until recovery has taken place, as some of 

 it is likely to find its way into the trachea and lungs. When 

 the anitnai is able to lap voluntarily, a little cold water may 

 be allowed, but soUd food should not be given for at least 

 an hour. A clean place, attention to hygiene and diet, 

 together with antiseptic dressings as often as necessary, 

 will complete the directions to bring about restoration to 

 health. 



Preparatory Treatment of the Site of Incision. 



The antiseptic treatment is the only one which is admissible 

 in modern surgery. All instruments, the patient, the operator, 

 the operating-table, and all surroundings, must be considered 

 as dirty until they have been treated antiseptically and 



