BILATERAL AND UNILATERAL PLANTAR NEUROTOMY 141 



the very thought of the word "nerving." Experienced horse- 

 men justly condemned the procedure and the phrase "nerv- 

 ing a horse" became synonymous with "ruining a horse." 



With a better understanding of the pathology of disease 

 and a better judgment of what might be the result of depriv- 

 ing a diseased structure of its sensory innervation, the scien- 

 tific veterinarian discarded "the operation, except for certain 

 special indications and for certain specific conditions not 

 taken into account by the earlier enthusiasts. The result 

 has been that high plantar neurotomy has again become a 

 common operation, from which certain effects may be de- 

 pended upon, without any great danger of disaster. 



Fig. 79. 

 Figs. 78 and 79 — Fracture of the Navicular Bone Following Neurotomy. 



INDICATIONS. — In the treatment of navicular disease, 

 which has heretofore been the chief indication for the opera- 

 tion, the low operation is recommended as par excellence 

 the best one. It is only as a last resort that the high opera- 

 tion can be judiciously recommended. When the diagnosis 

 is certain and the low operation has been given a fair trial, 

 then and then alone should this operation be mentioned in 

 the treatment of navicular arthritis. It is not always advis- 

 able even under such circumstances, for a lame horse or a 

 stiff horse is generally more valuable than a hopeless broken 

 down one. The most striking feature of "low" neurotomy 

 is the frequent disappearance of the lameness, even after 

 several months. Sometimes the lameness is increased in se- 

 verity and then gradually subsides week after week. All of 



