298 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



AFTER-CARE. — The animals are turned to pasture or 

 else given the freedom of a clean yard. The wounds should 

 be inspected at least once during the succeeding eight days, 

 in search of untoward reactions, and at the end of eight days 

 the sutures are removed and the wounds given a final treat- 

 ment according to their requirements. This after-care is, 

 however, not always possible. In the ranges no attention is 

 paid to the wounds after the animals are once operated upon. 

 The stitches are left to slough out. In every case where 

 heifers can be caught, as it is a matter of but a few moments, 

 the stitches should be removed and the wounds given 

 sensible treatment. 



SEQUELS AND ACCIDENTS.— Septic peritonitis, 

 hemorrhage, septicemia, abscess of the abdominal wall and 

 post-operative bloating are the possible sequela. The only 

 accidents likely to occur are accidental incision of an intes- 

 tine when the curved scissors are used and bleeding from the 

 circumflex illi artery. 



Note. — Vanlaw ablates the ovaries of heifers through 

 a flank incision only large enough to admit one finger. The 

 patient is recumbent and the incision is made in the right 

 flank about five to six inches below the external angle of the 

 ilium. The index finger is inserted and by pressing the 

 belly downward with some force the tip of the finger can be 

 hooked over the left ovary, which is brought out through 

 the incision and held there while the finger returns for the 

 right one. When both are brought out they are ablated to- 

 gether with the ecraseur. It seems that others have com- 

 pletely failed to perform the operation in this manner, and 

 many with whom the author has conversed have doubted 

 its possibility. It is, however, personally known to me that 

 Vanlaw has operated upon as many as 20,000 heifers in this 

 manner in a single season. 



Ovariectomy in Sows. 



INDICATIONS. — Nowadays sows are not very fre- 

 quently submitted to the operation of spaying, because hogs 

 are marketed at a very early age. The fattening of pigs be- 

 gins almost from the time of their birth and continues in- 

 cessantly under forced feeding until they reach that state of 

 unnatural obesity,— the marketable condition, — as early as 

 ten months. Under such conditions spaying is unnecessary. 

 Previously hogs were fattened during the second year of 

 their lives and as a consequence the danger of pregnancy 



