454 OPERATIONS—NEUROTOMY. 
the diseased foot or feet kept wet for a week prior to the operation. 
This frequently has the effect of constringing the arteries, greatly de- 
priving the part of blood. That result renders the use of the knife more 
cleanly and more easy. Two days prior to the important one have the 
hair cut short over the place or places where you design to make your 
incisions. By so doing, all chance of hair getting into and irritating 
the wound will be effectually destroyed. This may happen, and, should 
the hair be left on, much delay will be occasioned, while the animal’s 
sufferings must be augmented if the hair be clipped after the horse is 
down for operation. 
Never operate upon a horse with the hair uncut—leave that to parties 
who league with the lowest class of horse-cheats. Cut off hair two 
days beforehand. Make an incision 
through the skin about three-quarters 
to one inch long. Have a needle and 
thread ready—a strong surgeon’s needle 
and a stout twine. Pierce the divided 
skin from the inside to the outside, leav- 
ing a moderate piece of twine hang- 
ing out of the wound. Carry the twine 
aE ey A pERoewoIecLan wun» ~—s under the leg, and pierce the integument 
on the other margin of the wound—also 
from the interior to the exterior. Then bring the piece of twine left 
hanging out of the first puncture and the needle together, at the back 
of the leg. Slightly tighten the twine; fasten these two ends in a bow, 
and the effect will be to keep the sides of the incision asunder. 
If you design to perform the high operation, choose a spot a little 
above the pastern, and incise the skin at one cut, if possible. The high 
operation is most approved of for general purposes, and, as before re- 
marked, destroys sensation in the entire hoof. Some proprietors think 
it well to leave a little feeling in the forward portion of the foot, which 
is free from disease. This is done to escape those results that have 
already been enumerated as the effects of total insensibility. The high 
operation is, therefore, performed only on one side, and the posterior or 
low division on the other. There are two spots at which the low oper- 
ation may be accomplished. The author has given the reader a repre- 
sentation of the anatomy of the leg. He presents a view on page 455, 
of the places where the incisions can be made. 
Either of the lower operations, regarded by itself, is very uncertain 
in its effect; and, if taken both together, they present no advantage 
over the superior opening. 
These remarks may he better comprehended, by comparing this 
