204 CANINE AND FELINE SURGERY 



applied to the anus, and cold astringent injections administered 

 twice or three times a (\d,\ per rectum. 



For a dog merely debilitated, this condition must be over- 

 come by a course of hjematinic or general tonic medicine and 

 local astringents. 



Should these measures fail, operative measures must be 

 resorted to. 



Operations. — Knowing, from observations made upon the 

 healing of wounds, that the cicatrix \\hich eventually forms 

 occupies less space than did the original tissue, the surgeon 

 makes use of this knowledge in regions ^^-here such a course 

 is possible. The stricture which frequenth' forms after 

 certain operations upon the oesophagus, bowel, or urethra is 

 an illustration of this. The operations for entropion (see 

 p. iig) and this operation upon the relaxed anus are in- 

 stances in \\hich the cicatricial tissue can be satisfactorily 

 made use of. 



The patient should be fed only on milk or sloppy* diet 

 for tN\'o or three days, getting nothing whatever (if of 

 a hardy breed) for twenty-four hours previous to the 

 ordeal ; in the case of toy dogs, cats and delicate animals, 

 however, a small saucerful of milk or beef-tea may be 

 given about six or eight hours beforehand. .\ warm boric 

 acid (grs. x to gi.) or chinosol (gr. ss. to .^i.) enema is ad- 

 ministered, a cocaine suppository is inserted, and about an 

 hour later the patient placed in the abdominal position (see 

 p. ig) on the operating-table. The parts round the anus, 

 hind-quarters and tail are carefulh' shaved and prepared anti- 

 septically (see p. 2) ; a finger is passed into the rectum, and 

 the relaxed mucous membrane withdrawn. The anal orifice 

 is painted outside and inside with a 5 per cent, solution of 

 cocaine, and, with a pair of sharp scissors, two or three 

 superficial elliptical wounds, from a third of an inch to an 

 inch long, in the longitudinal axis, are made just where the 

 skin and mucous membrane join. These are afterwards 



