ON VENTRAL HERNIA. 
207 
The animal seldom undergoes any preparation, being only fed 
sparingly for a day or two previous. He is cast on his back; 
the operator returns the bowel, and gathers in his hand all the 
loose integument over and for a considerable distance round 
the hernia. He then pushes three or four iron skewers, about 
six inches long, transversely through the skin, and one or two lon- 
gitudinally over the hernia, and a strong cobbler's end is tied 
under the skewers, and drawn very tight. The skewers are next 
twisted round with a pair of pincers, otherwise the points would 
penetrate the skin of the adjacent parts of the abdomen when 
the animal lies down. The patient is then liberated, and kept 
short of food and water for a few days. 
Active inflammation is set up in the parts, and the aperture is 
very soon filled up with granulations. In about ten days or a 
fortnight the integument, skewers, and ligature all slough oft' 
together, a formation of new skin takes place over the granulated 
surface, and the animal has then unrestrained freedom. 
In the autumn of 1839 1 operated upon a filly, by Safeguard, 
out of a half-bred mare, three and a half years old. It was an 
unusually large umbilical hernia, the length of which was five 
inches, breadth in the middle two inches, and at each end one 
inch. The portion of protruded gut would have filled a half pint 
cup. She was kept on bran and slops fora week. Very little 
swelling ensued. She was neither bled, physicked, nor lotioned. 
Sloughing took place in ten days, and she was turned out in a 
fortnight after the operation, cured. 
The Worcestershire fox-hounds threw off in the beginning of 
last December at Lord Coventry’s seat, Severn Bank, and found 
a fox in a piece of gorse near the far-famed Perton Pool. They 
had a tremendous burst for about three miles. I was with them, 
and had the gratification of seeing this same filly out, ridden by 
Mr. Williams, jun., trainer, who was up at the check, during 
which time he rode over three or four stiff round cut hedges, and 
she cleared them in good style. She was recognised by several 
old sportsmen, who were deterred from buying her when she had 
hernia, thinking she would be useless to hunt or breed from. 
They congratulated me on my success in reducing the hernia, 
at the same time stating they had thought that it was morally 
impossible to do so. Wo person can now see that she has ever 
had hernia. Her owner was offered fifteen pounds for her pre- 
vious to the hernia being reduced, and since that time he has been 
offered forty-five guineas. I think in another year she will prove 
an out-and-outer, or, in other words, a star of the first magnitude 
in the chase. 
