FISTULOUS PAROTID DUCT. 
395 
bth Day .—Early this morning the duct gave way at the liga¬ 
ture, and the salivary flux has returned with redoubled force. 
\^th Day .—The wound below has been gradually healing, and 
to-day, for the first time since the operation, saliva has re-appeared 
at the original fistulous orifice. 
22d Day .—The wound made in tying the duct has quite healed 
up,, and the saliva has resumed its former course,—flowing down 
the side of the face; so that the case at present remains in its ori¬ 
ginal condition. 
My next experiment consisted in so applying the spring truss 
across the poll, that the pad pressed upon the parotid gland itself; 
entertaining a notion that, by diminishing its supply of blood, 
and at the same time maintaining all its parts closely compressed, 
I might lessen the secretion, and ultimately suppress it altoge¬ 
ther. I continued this for a month without any perceptible benefit. 
Failing thus far, I introduced a seton through the cheek, in a 
manner I have already described: this proved a troublesome 
affair, but I at length succeeded in establishing it by the use of a 
shankless metallic button, confined close to the inside of the cheek. 
The seton was retained for six weeks, during which time, in con¬ 
sequence of its obstructing the issue of saliva from the upper open¬ 
ing, the duct has again given way at the place w^here it was tied. 
Soon after this eruption, nothing appearing likely to be gained by 
it, the seton w^as withdrawn and abandoned. The relinquishment 
of the seton was followed, however, by the healing up not only of 
the wound made through the buccal membrane, but also of the 
fistulous orifice in the cheek; the issue now being from the place 
where the ligature was applied. 
Wearied and peiq)lexed with frequent failures and the untoward¬ 
ness of the case, and unwhlling to make the horse (a favourite and 
a valuable one) the subject of an operation, formidable, difficult, 
and not divested of danger, I relinquished all treatment for a time, 
and rode the animal about in a state of incertitude (useful as he 
continued in every respect to be) whether I should ever feel in¬ 
clined to run tlie risk of submitting him to the only apparent re¬ 
medy left—extirpation of the gland. Professor Coleman (among 
several other veterinarians) saw the horse, and advised the ope¬ 
ration, as the only remedial step to be taken. 
It was during this interval that I had to treat the case I have 
already given an account of, and the horse returned from grass to 
the infirmary with his third relapse. On this subject I was urged 
and necessitated ^Ho do something” by way of remedy. Still 
averse to the operation, and clinging to a notion I had all along 
entertained, that it teas possible to disorganise the gland—it came 
into my mind to make trial of the caustic injection. Of the re- 
