046 
EXTRACTION OF A FORK 
He was exceedingly depressed, very thin, lay constantly at 
his length to avoid flexing the belly, and slowly, and with hesi¬ 
tation, answered the commands of his master. The points cor¬ 
responding with the situation of the fork being pressed upon, he 
evinced great pain ; the pulse was small and quick, and the 
mucous membranes pale. 
The fork had for some time occupied a situation in nearly 
the centre of the abdomen, and in a direction parallel with the 
length of the body; but in what portion of the intestinal canal 
it was contained, or whether it had perforated the stomach or 
intestines, and fallen into the cavity of the abdomen, we were 
unable to ascertain. We determined, however, to cut into the 
abdominal cavity, as the only means of relieving the sufferer. 
Having shaved off the hair, I made an incision on the right 
flank, through the skin, about three inches in length, and in a 
direction from above below, and from before backwards. I then 
cautiously divided the muscular, and next the peritoneal coat 
beneath. Then laying aside the bistoury, I drew a part of the 
floating portion of the large intestines from the abdomen, and 
which would probably have incommoded me in the after part of 
the operation, and introducing my fingers into the incision, I 
seized the fork, which was free as far as the middle of it among 
the intestines, and I cautiously drew it to the opening that I had 
made in the flank. The other half of the fork was enveloped, 
and tightly grasped by the origin of the mesocolon, which was 
red and engorged. Drawing it with moderate force towards me, 
I attempted in vain to disengage the fork, and was compelled to 
have recourse to the knife. I slid the back of a very narrow bis¬ 
toury along the fork to the base of its prongs, and drawing it 
back, I cut through all the tissues that retained it, and thus 
drew out the fork with the greatest ease. 
The dog, during the operation, vomited some soup that it had 
taken in the morning, and also struggled violently, causing a 
great portion of the large intestines to protrude and retract 
through the wound, and admitting a great deal of air into the 
abdomen. There was very little bleeding; the intestines were 
all returned to their natural situation, and the wound closed by 
the suture du pelletier # . The half of the fork which was free 
* This kind of suture is used for wounds in the stomach or intestines, or 
the walls of the belly. The edges of the wound are brought together; one 
end or angle of the wound is held by the operator, and the other by an as¬ 
sistant, and then, by means of a round needle and proper thread, and in 
the manner that a housewife would sew or whip together two seams, the 
wound is closed. Three or four inches of thread are left at the first stitch, 
and the same at the last one: these two ends are then tied together, and 
left without the wound.—E dit. 
