500 VETERINARY SURGICAL OPERATIONS 



especially in horses in good flesh. On the other hand when 

 the fracture invades the greater part of the whole angle there 

 is a marked lameness lasting two to three weeks, and the 

 deformity is thereafter a conspicuous defect in the affected 

 hip. 



When the lesion becomes infected an abscess forms and 

 then after bursting at the surface develops into a chronic 

 fistula that can only be cured by extirpation of the segment. 



When large and entirely free the segment is usually 

 drawn downward toward the stifle by muscular contraction. 



2. Fractures of the Whole Angle of the Ilium vary but 

 slightly in the size of the segment and direction of the frac- 

 ture. The line usually extends from the anterior border 

 obliquely backward to the shaft. In the scale of seriousness 

 this fracture stands second. It causes a pronounced lameness, 

 a dragging of the leg, and a bias gait, that gradually "disap- 

 pears during three to four weeks succeeding the date of in- 

 jury. The permanent deformation of the hip is always con- 

 spicuous, but the patient is restored to full usefulness. As 

 in the foregoing, infection may end in the formation of a 

 chronic fistula. In this case the tract may extend behind the 

 segment, which, on account of its size and position, offers a 

 serious obstacle to successful surgical intervention. The 

 segment falls downward toward the stifle in juxtaposition to 

 the peritoneal cavity, and instead of separating from the sur- 

 rounding soft tissue it becomes more closely fused to them 

 and at the same time enlarges into a larger body from the 

 productive propensities of its still well-nourished periosteum. 

 The extirpation of such a body is a hazardous undertaking 

 on account of its close relation to the abdominal cavity with 

 whose walls it is often firmly fused. 



3. Fracture of the Shaft of the Ilium is a serious frac- 

 ture, causing at once a serious claudication and later a pro- 

 nounced deformity and defective gait that render the subject 

 unsalable and in fact almost useless. In brood mares it is 

 a serious hindrance to pregnancy and parturition. 



The patient is totally incapacitated for three months, 

 and although able to support weight on the affected side, 

 suffers considerable pain that reflects over the whole organ- 

 ism. The lameness never entirely disappears, but sojourns 

 permanently in the form of a hitch and short anterior stride. 

 The deformation of the hip is pronounced. The whole hip 

 anterior to the level of the articulation is depressed by the 

 sinking of the bone and atrophy of the gluteals. In some 

 cases the injury is complicated with visceral mjury. The 



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