212 CANINE MEDICINE AND SURGERY 



to the ligature. In this manner the ovaries and 

 cornua are removed in their entirety, with practically 

 no hemorrhage or risk of infection. 



Hysterotomy — Cesarean Section 



The object of this operation is the removal of 

 live or dead fetuses. This operation, to be success- 

 ful, must be performed sufficiently early and is pref- 

 erable to, and offers better chances of recovery to 

 the mother, than prolonged or forcible manipulation 

 with the forceps. 



Preparation. — Perform laparotomy, • making the 

 incision in the median line extending backwards 

 from an inch behind the umbilicus to about an inch 

 anterior to the brim of the pelvis. If the bladder is 

 full, evacuate the urine by puncture with a sterile 

 hypodermic needle or pass the catheter. Use the 

 same instruments and materials as for gastrotomy. 



Technic. — Bring the uterus well up into the wound, 

 blocking it ofif from the peritoneal cavity with sterile 

 gauze wrung out in warm, sterile, normal saline solu- 

 tion. Make an incision in the long axis of the horn 

 and as close to the fundus as practicable, and extract 

 the fetuses, all through the same incision. 



• Care must be taken not to incise or rupture the 

 fetal membranes, as the risk of infection is thereby 

 enormously increased. The best plan is for the 

 operator to manipulate the fetuses into the uterine 

 wound. Then the assistant extracts them and hands 

 them as they are delivered to a second assistant, 

 who looks after them. In this way the operator 

 does not get his hands contaminated by coming in 

 contact with the interuterine fluids. The after-births 

 should then all be removed and the uterus swabbed 

 out with normal saline solution. The uterine wound 

 is sutured with No. 2 size black sewing silk, using 



