TREATMENT 79 
full depth of the blade. The variation in length 
of the incision is necessitated by the difference 
in the size of the patient, in the thickness of 
the skin and underlying pad, and also by the 
size of the tumefaction. In a small horse, for 
example, having only a small rounded sac 
bulging at one side, an incision six inches long 
will be found ample, while in a large “meaty- 
necked” draft horse having an enormous swell- 
ing it must be at least twelve inches long. 
Otherwise the walls of the wound cannot be 
parted enough to give a good access to the bot- 
tom of the cavity for inspection and for resec- 
tion of diseased parts of the ligament. We 
aim in the first stroke of the knife to incise 
the skin and underlying pad from end to end, * 
that is, from the point decided upon anteriorly 
to the crest of the withers. For descriptive 
purposes this may be designated the first step 
of the operation. 
In the second step each of the edges of this 
large wound is grasped deeply with the tumor 
forceps. An assistant should hold one of the 
forceps and the operator the other By draw- 
ing the wound apart with some force the bleed- 
ing now spurting from many small vessels is 
immediately controlled and after widening it 
out, a good view of the bottom is obtained for 
the next incision. The scalpel is now plunged 
