246 CANINE AND FELINE SUJ^GERY 



three months, the result being on each occasion to give instant relief. In 

 several other patients, too, the author has punctiu-ed the bladder three 

 or four times, and the histories of the patients have been followed for 

 se\eral years afterwards. 



Even in cats with the urethra apparent!}- blocked with 

 gravel which could not be sufficienth- removed to enable 

 the urine to flow away, if the end of the passage is cleaned 

 out as much as possible, and the bladder punctured, in by 

 far the majorit}- of instances the patients will presently pass 

 urine voluntarily. The explanation of this is that the relief 

 of the pressure from behind the obstruction alters the 

 position of some of the gravel and, instead of being one 

 semi-solid blocked-up mass, it becomes converted into small 

 particles which are washed a\\ay by the time the bladder is 



Fig. 158. — Urethral Forceps. 



again full enough to be evacuated. The muscles, too, are 

 put at rest as their tonic contraction is relaxed. 



Urethrotomy. — For this operation in the male the dorsal 

 position (Fig. 15) is the best, but struggling must be avoided 

 as much as possible, on account of the risk of rupturing the 

 bladder. A local or general ansesthetic is made use of, the 

 parts are thoroughly cleaned \\ith some antiseptic, and a 

 catheter is passed up the urethra as far as the obstruction. An 

 incision is made in the median line directlv over the calculus 

 (see Fig. 162), \\hich is then removed together with an}- others 

 within reach, and the parts are thoroughly washed with a 

 fluid antiseptic. The catheter should be passed right into 

 the bladder to make sure that the passage is clear, and the 

 bladder itself washed out with a solution of some non- 

 irritating antiseptic, such as chinosol (gr. ss. to ^i.) or boracic 



