394 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



For tongue lolling (See Vol. i). other methods of correct- 

 ing the habit are first tried, and when they have failed, if the 

 habit is thought sufficiently annoying, about five inches of 

 the free end is amputated. The success in this case is uni- 

 versal, and the loss gives the patient only temporary in- 

 convenience in prehension. The greatest objection to the 

 operation is the fact that a horse with an amputated tongue 

 will thereafter be pronounced unsound and is therefore less 

 valuable. 



RESTRAINT. — The recumbent position is essential. 

 General anaesthesia, while decidedly helpful, may be sub- 

 stituted by a careful submucous cocainizatiori. 



INSTRUMENTS, ETC- 

 i. Scalpel. 



2. Dissecting forceps. 



3. Two or three artery forceps 



4. Needle and thread. 



5. Tape tourniquet. 



TECHNIQUE.— The tape is applied around the tongue 

 above the proposed seat of section. In order to place it high 

 enough to effect a high amputation the fraenum is snipped and 

 the tape slipped into the breach. A thread is then passed 

 through the tip to serve as a hold with which- to draw out 

 the organ to a convenient position. The amputation is ef- 

 fected by the dovetail method, with a superior and an inferior 

 flap. The first incision to this end is a circular one extend- 

 ing from the middle of one border over the dorsum to the 

 middle of the opposite border. The incision is at once car- 

 ried backward toward the tourniquet until one-half of the 

 substance of the tongue is sectioned. The tongue is then 

 turned over and a similar flap made with the under half. If 

 the tourniquet has not already slipped off it is removed and 

 an examination made for spurting vessels which may or may 

 not appear. Despite the fact that the lingual artery is always 

 divided, bleeding is generally too trivial to require any special 

 attention. The edges are sutured with a continuous suture. 



AFTER-CARE.— No attempt is made to apply local 

 treatment to the stump; the antisepsis is left to the cleanli- 

 ness of the mouth. Wet feeds are substitued for dry, and 

 grass, in season, is given in preference to coarse hay. In 

 eight days the suture is removed. 



SEQUEL. — There is nothing dangerous about lingual 

 amputations, and the wound, despite the motility of the or- 

 gan, heals well under the influence of good nourishment 



