PREPARATION FOR OPERATION. 75 



instrument for excision of the ovaries. A speculum is also 

 advised by some operators, but it is not a necessity. The knife 

 and ^craseur, or torsion forceps, together with all cotton wool 

 to be used in the interior must be carefully sterilised, either 

 by boiling or by immersing for some considerable time in a 

 reliable solution of some disinfectant. The enema syringe 

 must be a clean one, and may be either of Higginson's pattern 

 or an ordinary metal one of sufficient size and calibre. 



Preparation of the Operator's Hands and the Patient's 

 Genitals. — The operator's hands, nails and arms should be 

 carefully scrubbed in hot water containing some reliable anti- 

 septic (such as creolin, chinosol, perchloride of mercury, carbolic, 

 etc.), and afterwards washed again in fresh antiseptic with ether 

 or ether soap, care being now taken that the hand and arm 

 which must enter the abdomen shall not afterwards touch 

 anything which could contaminate it. At the same time an 

 assistant similarly washes the under surface of the mare's 

 tail, the vulva, anus and perineal region, drying it with 

 sterilised wadding or a clean cloth. Care must be taken 

 to cleanse the interior of the lips of the vulva, as smegma is 

 often present there and is apt to soil the hand or arm when 

 entering. 



The vagina is filled with warm antiseptic solution — creolin 

 (1-50), or chinosol (1-500) — and this is allowed to come in 

 direct contact with the interior of the vagina for at least ten 

 minutes. The hand is then introduced and moved to thoroughly 

 agitate the fluid, which is now aided to escape. Afterwards, 

 with sterilised cotton wool and fresh chinosol solution, the 

 vagina is swabbed out and dried. The patient is now quite 

 ready for the operation. 



It is necessary to attend carefully to the above details 

 because sometimes the vagina, especially in troublesome oestral 

 mares, contains a lot of slimy mucus adherent to its walls, and 

 mere syringing is not sufficient to remove it. In special cases 

 where a discharge has been observed for some time, and 

 especially where it has been found purulent, the vagina should 



