196 



CANINE AND FELINE SURGERY 



tightly. The ends of the sutures were cut as short as 

 possible. The cut ends of the gut were thus fixed in contact, 

 slight inversion of the ends occurring at the sutures. A 

 continuous " double turned ' suture (see Fig. 134) w as now 

 commenced on the under surface of the bowel about one- 

 third of an inch from the mesenteric attachment ; especial 

 care was paid to the first four stitches to insure that the 

 knot of the ' cone sutures ' was buried beneath the line of 

 the continuous suture, the needles here being inserted a 

 little farther from the cut margins. The assistant, holding 

 the bowel at the apex of each ' cone ' between the thumb 

 and fingers, kept the cut ends of the gut in view (other- 



Fig. 135. — Mode of Insertion of Cone. 



wise excessive inversion occurred during the suturing), and 

 gradually rotated the bowel back to its original position as 

 the suturing proceeded. Especial care must be taken to 

 bur}' the ' cone suture ' knots, or peritonitis is apt to ensue. 

 As each ' double turn ' (see Fig. 134) of the continuous suture 

 was in process of being tightened, the assistant, with the 

 closed blades of a pair of scissors applied on the flat, or 

 other instrument, inverted the margins of the bowel, and 

 kept them so until the double turn was drawn sufficienth' 

 tight to invert them permanentl}-. When the gut had been 

 sutured all round, the two ends of the suture were tied with 

 a reef-knot ; the bowel was carefulh- cleansed and the line of 

 resection inspected, to insure that the edges were everywhere 



