160 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



on account of the extended position of the three hoppled legs 

 the operator may be constantly-molested. 



" Whatever restraint is selected, the operator should see to 

 it that the seat of operation is perfectly fixed, or at least per- 

 fectly controlled, because a badly secured leg will often de- 

 moralize the whole affair, especially with a young, inexper- 

 ienced surgeon at the helm. With a good restraint and with 

 a good tourniquet to eliminate the blood from the surgical 

 wound during the dissection, the operation itself will be 

 found a very simple one. 



In casting horses upon litter some precaution must al- 

 ways be taken to prevent soiling the wounds with flying par- 

 ticles whirled about by the patient's struggles. On this ac- 

 count cocainization should not be omitted, and when the 

 patient is rolled over the sutured wound on the opposite side 

 of the leg requires some protection. A clean cloth or rubber 

 sheet may be placed beneath the leg to very good advantage 

 from this standpoint. The operation can be performed by 

 rolling the patient over but once by operating upon the ex- 

 ternal nerve of one leg and the internal one of the other con- 

 secutively. It is, however, preferable to operate first upon 

 one side of a leg, roll the patient over for the other side, ap- 

 ply the permanent bandage, fix the leg to its original position 

 and then repeat the same procedure on the opposite leg. 

 This course prevents any unnecessary exposure of the 

 wounds and saves some time required in tying and releasing 

 the legs, but necessitates rolling the patient over twice. 

 Either course may be selected. 



General anaesthesia is never an absolute necessity in digi- 

 tal neurotomy, because pain is fairly well banished with the 

 local anaesthesia. The latter, from the standpoint of human- 

 ity, should, • however, never be omitted in the recumbent 

 operation. In the standing posture it is essential, as few 

 horses would submit to the pain unless the seat of operation 

 is partially or completely anaesthetized. 



EQUIPMENT.— The following are the essential articles 

 required to perform the operation in the proper fashion : 



i. The securing apparatus, harness, ropes, hopples, ta- 

 ble, or twitch, according to the kind of restraint decided 

 upon. 



2. Rubber tourniquet to control the haemorrhage. 



3. A pan of warm wa.ter containing soap, razor and 

 sponge to wash and shave the field. 



4. A pan of mercuric chloride solution, 1-500, contain- 

 ing a' sponge or cotton pledgets to disinfect the field. 



