334 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



gerous from the pressure exerted upon the spinal cord in the 

 atlo-axoid space, and from the danger of the confined blood 

 finding its way into the neural canal. 



AFTER-CARE. — Twenty-four hours after the operation 

 the stitches are cut and th,e packing and forceps removed. 

 Then, after submitting every part to a good irrigation with 

 mercuric chloride solution, and dislodging and washing out 

 every blood clot from the different recesses, every part is 

 sprinkled liberally with iodoform twenty-five per cent and 

 boric acid seventy-five per cent. Thereafter antiseptic irri- 

 gations and the application of the dusting powder above men- 

 tioned are continued until cicatrization is complete. The 

 wound is examined daily for sloughing shreds of ligament or 

 adjacent tendons which may delay the heafing process. Cica- 

 trization is generally complete in thirty days. 



SEQUELS AND ACCIDENTS.— '( i ) General paral- 

 ysis, induced by involvement of the spinal cord in an effect- 

 ive inflammation extending from the wound, or from pres- 

 sure of the wound-packing or blood, occasional-ly supervenes 

 this radical operation, but this incident is rare if reasonable 

 antiseptic precautions are taken during and after the" opera- 

 tion, and the wound is not packed and sutured too tightly. 

 The symptoms of this untoward termination may begin to 

 manifest themselves as early as the third day, from technical 

 errors, or they may not appear until the second week, or 

 even the third week, from insufficient antiseptic. after-care. 

 The patient refuses food, develops a fever of 103 to 105 

 Fahr., walks with gradually accentuating difficulty and finally 

 is unable to rise. If raised with sling, life is prolonged for a 

 few days more, but in every case death ensues! 



(2) Excessive loss of blood and shock go hand in hand, 

 and although they occur frequently enough, they are indeed 

 rare when the operation is performed under adequate anes- 

 thesia and when a little care is displayed in controlling the 

 bleeding. If no anaesthetic is administered and no attention 

 paid to the enormous flow of blood that continues from the 

 time the operation begins until it is completed, the patient 

 will have reached a state of extreme exhaustion that is dis- 

 astrous to its subsequent welfare. 



Operation for Pectoral Fistula of Horses. 



INDICATIONS.— Pectoral fistula is a chronic fistulous 

 condition of the inferior part of the chest along the course 

 of the sternum. It has its origin in a wound or contusion 

 that injures the sternum, either directly or by invasion of 



