FISTULA OF THE PAROTID DUCT. 
389 
the third around the face. All went on, so far as we could 
judge, very well, until the morning of the second day, when 
it was found that the saliva escaped in considerable quantity 
from the inferior part of the dressing, so that all chance of a 
good result was hopeless for that trial. Again, on the same 
day, I applied a greater quantity of the collodion than on the 
former occasion, and on the following day I found it had 
failed in the same way. 
I again had the mare cast, and on examining the fistula, the 
idea suggested itself, might not the portion of duct leading 
from the wound to the mouth be closed or altogether oblite- 
rated by the adhesive inflammation set up in the parts after 
the injury had been inflicted ? and after a most diligent 
probing and manipulation, 1 could find nothing of it, although 
the other part leading to the gland could be explored with 
facility. Might not this be the cause of the collodion's non- 
success? and might an artificial opening made from the fistula 
upwards into the mouth not prove of service, and enable me 
to close the external opening? 
All the morbid matter was now carefully dissected away 
from around the wound to the depth of half an inch; and 
the thickened parietes of the fistula, somewhat resembling 
cartilage, were next scooped out, until an opening was made 
nearly large enough to admit the end of the little finger. 
During this time the bleeding was rather profuse. Nextly, 
a bullet-probe — the probe end fixed in a handle, and the eye 
end slightly curved and sharpened, and armed with a long 
piece of silk ribbon — w 7 as passed from the bottom of the 
fistula up in the supposed course of the canal until it reached 
nearly the middle of the superior molars. 
This was the most difficult task of all, and required some 
time for its performance. Then the mouth being kept open 
to its utmost by the balling-iron, the needle was pushed 
gently into the mouth through the cheek, until the end of 
the ribbon eould be seized upon, and then it w*as withdrawn. 
The seton was smeared with digestive ointment, and the 
end in the mouth left hanging there. The external parts 
had cold water dressings, and were finally bandaged up. 
The mare was only allowed sloppy bran-mashes, all hay and 
straw being removed from her loose box. In this way she 
was kept for four days, when a sufficiently large opening 
appearing to exist in the tract of the seton, I had the latter 
removed, the granulations around the fistula scarified, and 
immediately covered over with nitrate of silver, which soon 
formed a coagulum over the whole. Pledgets of dry tow 7 , so 
arranged as to make equable pressure over the wound and 
xxx. 52 
