RACICAL OPERATIONS for quittor. 319 



tremely hazardous on account of the certainty of laying open 

 the pedal articulation in the attempt. On the other hand, it 

 is safe enough in plain, uncomplicated cartilaginous quittors, 

 during the earlier stages of their evolution. 



In superficial quittors originating from coronary wounds, 

 total resection is often unnecessary, since the necrotic por- 

 tion of the cartilage can easily be lifted out with a curette 

 through a simple supra-coronary incision. 



RESTRAINT. — Lateral recumbent restraint is essential. 

 The leg must be fixed so as to keep the affected foot under 

 perfect control. General anaesthesia is ideal, although co- 

 cainization of the plantar nerve of the affected side will an- 

 swer when the former is deemed inadvisable. When a gen- 

 eral anaesthetic is decided upon all of the preparatory non- 

 painful steps (disinfection, paring of the hoof, etc.) are exe- 

 cute'd before administration in order to shorten the duration 

 of the anaesthesia, and when regional anaesthesia is selected 

 the best possible results are obtained by injecting about five 

 grains of cocaine hydrochlorate in the form of a four per 

 cent solution at three or four different points over the course 

 of the nerve along the inferior third of the metacarpal re- 

 gion. A perfunctory injection at one point is generally inef- 

 fectual, and at best the anaesthesia is sometimes limited to 

 the posterior part of the foot, despite every effort to place 

 the solution directly upon the nerve trunk. 



ANTISEPSIS.— The antisepsis must be thorough 

 throughout, beginning twenty-four hours before operating 

 and continuing until the parts are safely healed; otherwise, 

 serious if not fatal implication of the underlying synoviajs 

 in septic inflammation is inevitable. The first step is the 

 removal of the shoe, followed by ridding the sole, frog and 

 wall of every dirt-harboring recess with the file' and paring 

 knife. After the hoof has been thus prepared, and the hair 

 clipped closely as high as the metacarpus and the'part over 

 the affected quarter shaved, the foot is soaked for some 

 hours in a strong antiseptic bath. On removal from the bath 

 the whole hoof is wrapped in a thick layer of cotton and 

 bandages rinsed out of a strong solution of mercuric chlor- 

 ide, 1-500, or one-half per cent solution of formalin. These 

 are occasionally re-moistened with the same solution during 

 the twelve to twenty-four hours preceding the operation, 

 and are left on until the horse has been cast and secured in 

 proper position and there is no longer any danger of soiling 

 the field. 



Upon removal of the antiseptic pack the field is submitted 



