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TREATMENT OF FRACTURES OF THE PHALANGES. 
The treatment of fractures of the phalanges consists principally in 
perfect rest and the use of slings. In fissures of the os suffraginis 
a well-fitting linen bandage is generally sufficient, though a plaster 
bandage may be applied if the horse be slung. Plaster bandages should 
extend well above the fetlock and as far down as the hoof in order to limit 
movement of the limb. Considerable care is required in padding the 
limb previous to applying the bandage itself, otherwise troublesome sores 
may form. Stolz saw complete union of fracture of the os suffraginis 
follow the employment of his ointment dressing (see “ Fractures of the 
Metacarpus”). In valuable horses this method may be tried after 
successful reduction. Cold-water applications are usually valueless, 
and have the positive disadvantage of softening the skin and favouring 
excoriation by the bandage. 
Fractures of the os coronse are similarly treated, but, as bandaging 
is here of less value, one is often confined to merely resting the 
animal. Excessive pain may be reduced by cold baths or applications. 
Stripping the sole, formerly practised in such cases in France, is to be 
carefully avoided, as inflammation and suppuration are thereby greatly 
favoured. 
The lameness which follows fracture of the phalanges may sometimes 
be removed by neurectomy of the median nerve, and the animal thus 
rendered useful for a time. 
In slinging animals in the above and other conditions, the following 
points should be borne in mind. The slings serve principally to prevent 
the animal lying down, and to temporarily support it in painful con¬ 
ditions like lameness; but as in severe lameness of one limb the 
opposite limb is continuously loaded, laminitis unfortunately too often 
occurs, and it is therefore better when the animals are in good condition, 
and able to lie down without injuring the diseased foot, to favour this by 
giving plenty of straw and abstaining from the use of slings. Many 
practitioners prefer sawdust to straw as a bedding in these cases. It is 
clean, gives a secure foothold, does not wind round the legs like straw, 
and when fresh is slightly antiseptic. 
Laminitis and displacement of the pedal bone may be recognised by 
pain and increased pulsation in the metacarpal artery. Immediately it 
occurs the patient should be removed from the slings, provided with a 
soft bed, and allowed to lie down. The practitioner must be careful not 
to mistake the symptom of weight being placed on the diseased foot as a 
sign of improvement. 
