CASTRATION OF CRYPTORCH1DS. 
247 
“ I have never castrated animals with double cryptor- 
chidy, but in all cases of the unilateral form I have obtained 
rapid recovery when operating through the flank. The after 
treatment consists in irrigation. The sutures are to be re¬ 
moved after twenty-four hours. The advantages of this 
method are : 
“First. The operation is performed while the animal is on 
his side, while in other methods he must be placed on his back. 
“ Second. The wound is never kept open by the weight of 
the intestines, and their protrusion is therefore not to be feared. 
“ Third. The after treatment is easier of application upon 
the flank than in the inguinal region. 
“ The perforation of the abdominal Vail in the Danish 
method is dangerous, and in cases where the epididymis is in 
the canal the Degive proofs can be employed. In all other 
cases my method is less dangerous.” 
Herm. Putz, referring to the works of Schmidt, Ostertag, 
Degive and others, thus concludes: 
“ The results obtained by Danish veterinarians are but lit¬ 
tle satisfactory. If the operation is performed through the 
inguinal canal by means of an incision in front of the pubis 
where the wall is thinnest, or even through the flank, the re¬ 
sult is always a doubtful one.” 
As may be seen by the extracts, the Danish and German 
veterinarians favor the methods which involve the opening 
of the peritoneum by incision of either the flank, or, prefer¬ 
ably, of the abdomen near the inguinal canal. Notwithstand¬ 
ing the authority of these writers, however, 1 shall con¬ 
tinue to consider these operations as of a very dangerous 
character, and shall prefer the perforation of the inguinal 
interstice. Our foreign confreres ought to have sustained 
their case by reporting the exact number of operations per¬ 
formed, with the results obtained in each case, as, after all, 
these practical results are the best proofs of the comparative 
merit of this, as of any other surgical method. 
The figures which we have gathered from various publi¬ 
cations relate specially to the operation through the inguinal 
space. For example: Degive reports 9 deaths in 127 opera- 
