298 DISEASES OF THE BONES AND ARTICULATIONS. 



layers of corrosive sublimate gauze). Then apply the closed dress- 

 ing of plaster- of- Paris entirely over it. If the wound is slight, as 

 a rule, you do not require to remove the bandage. Care must be 

 taken, however, to take the temperature and watch the leg to see 

 if it swells, and if the animal is restless and uneasy. In cases 

 where there is a wound and several broken bones, making a com- 

 pound comminuted fracture, the patients can only be saved by 

 amputating the leg. Amputation of the leg, as well as exarticu- 

 lation, has been performed a number of times in the dog, and gen- 

 erally successfully, the animals soon becoming accustomed to the 

 loss of the leg, using the other three with almost as much ease as 

 they did with four. 



Amputation. Before the operation clean the affected leg with soap and 

 a brush ; then disinfect with powerful antiseptics (5 per cent, solution of 

 carbolic acid, 1 to 1000 solution of corrosive sublimate, and 2 per cent, 

 solution of creolin). In operating do so with as little loss of blood as pos- 

 sible. To accomplish this use Esmarch's rubber bandage. All of the rules 



Fig. 67. 



Different methods of amputation : a, straight section ; b. flap operation ; c, method 

 of sewing the wound. 



of antisepsis must be strictly adhered to, and at short intervals during the 

 operation the wound must be irrigated with some antiseptic. Avoid any 

 serious manipulation or compression of the soft parts. The skin must 



