CASTRATION OF SOLIPEDS. 
485 
swelling-. Cut through the skin, go carefully through the 
loose, meshed, connective tissue layers between skin and vag¬ 
inal tunic, pressing them downward as you pull the testicle 
and intact tunic upward, until the cord is sufficiently isolated 
to admit the placing on it of a curved wooden clamp (the gut 
being kept back by an assistant), and allow the compressed 
parts to slough off. See to it that the clamp is tight enough 
to destroy the vitality of the tissue compressed by it, but not 
so tight that it will cut through too quickly before union of 
the opposing edges has taken place. Williams suggests that 
the clamp be placed over the intact skin, but apart from the 
difficulty of getting it on high enough up, I should expect it 
to be often followed by scirrhous cord. 
Common Complications. — Hemorrhage .—Primary hemor¬ 
rhage following castration is usually due to the slipping of a 
clamp when the old-fashioned method of castration has been 
followed, to a partial failure of the tunica media and intima 
of the artery to curve inward after being crushed off by the 
chain, or to a congenital absence of the contracted elements 
of the middle tunic making the patient a bleeder. 
If the bleeding follows immediately after the operation, does 
not exceed a quart or two, is somewhat intermittent, and 
gradually grows less, it is of no moment, calls for no no inter¬ 
ference, and is probably beneficial; if large in amount, plug 
the wound with antiseptic cotton, and stitch up the scrotum, 
or tie the artery, a thing often easy to advise, hard to do. I 
have only met with two severe cases of primary hemorrhage, 
I plugged one, the other ceased spontaneously when the 
patient became faint. I have never seen a secondary hem¬ 
orrhage of large amount, but if you have a secondary bleeding 
dark in color, intermittent in character and coagulating slowly, 
you will usually find it due to imperfect antisepsis—it is a 
bad symptom, and should be met by thorough disinfection of 
the wound, and the internal administration of quinia and iron. 
Colicky pains yield to a dose of chloral, but it is well to re¬ 
member that the fear and pain of a surgical operation under¬ 
gone soon after a meal, may stop digestion and result in fer¬ 
mentative colics. 
