274 Surgical Diseases and Surgery of the Dog 



or no morbid eflfect on the organism, so that surgical interference 

 is superfluous. 



Treatment. Catarrhal endometritis is difficult to treat short 

 of extirpation of the organ. In only the largest animals can any 

 attempt be made at irrigation, and even then it is practically impos- 

 sible to wash out the whole extent of the two comua. Very good 

 results are obtainable by a course of administration of official em- 

 menagogue pills, which contain ergotin and other ecbolics. Should 

 the latter treatment fail after a thorough trial, celio-oophoro-hys- 

 terectomy is indicated. 



When pyometra is established it is always best to remove the 

 uterus as soon as possible before the condition has become so ad- 

 vanced as to render a successful issue doubtful, owing to the great 

 tendency to formation of metastatic abscesses in the liver, spleen, 

 and kidneys. As in catarrhal endometritis proper, discharge of the 

 contained matter can be induced with emmenagogue pills, but the 

 disease is in no wise abated, the infective process having its seat 

 deep in the wall of the organ. These pills are very useful for ad- 

 ministering as a diagnostic agent in doubtful cases, as they invari- 

 ably cause the organ to expel its contents. Burke claimed to have 

 cured an animal suffering from a disease, which from his descrip- 

 tion was evidently pyometra, by administration of a mixture of er- 

 got, iodide of potash, and digitalis. But as he did not see the animal 

 again after the lapse of three weeks, the claim can hardly be credi- 

 ted, what took place having been in all probability expulsion of the 

 accumulated matter with temporary relief. 



The puerperal form of the disease is to be treated by prompt 

 celio-oophoro-hysterectomy. Attempts at extraction of the fetal 

 remains and irrigation are not to be countenanced. The disease 

 is so rapid in its course that hesitancy on the part of the surgeon 

 may result in fatal termination. Moreover, the fact that all the 

 coats of the organ are involved in the inflammatory process renders 

 local disinfection an impossibility. Immediately after an operation 

 of such gravity, powerful stimulants, such as trinitrin, should be 

 ' hypodermically administered, and the physiologic salt solution in- 

 jected through the wound into the peritoneal cavity, or hypodermi- 

 cally for several minutes, as fast as absorption takes place. Provi- 

 sion should also be made for drainage as the peritoneum is ex- 

 tremely apt to have become infected. 



