DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
49 
STRANGULATED HERNIA. 
In treating* colics in entire horses, or even geldings, the 
circumspect veterinarian inspects and palpates the inguinal re¬ 
gion. Colics of hernial origin are common in breeding districts 
and even in city practice, and frequently their cause is not de¬ 
tected until too late to resort to operative treatment. Hernia 
may cause mild recurrent colics which respond to ordinary med¬ 
ical treatment ; violent abdominal pain and death in twenty-four 
to forty-eight hours ; or a sub-acute enteralgia lasting ten days 
to two weeks. The strangulation may occur suddenly from 
coprostasis of the intestinal loop or it may be slow from gradual 
constriction of the hernial orifice. The lesion varies from sim¬ 
ple pain caused by flatus or retarded faecal matter to a fatal ne¬ 
crotic inflammation of the loop and adjacent tissues. 
Intestinal oscheocele and bubonocele are the hernise most sus¬ 
ceptible to strangulation. Umbilical and ventral hernia of 
nominal size seldom incarcerate. All animals are susceptible, 
the stallion and bull more so than the smaller ones. 
Diagnosis .—A regular, persisting abdominal pain occurring 
with local tenderness of a hernial sac is diagnostic. In the dog 
vomiting is a prominent symptom. As the disease progresses 
the hernia will increase in size, become more painful and irre¬ 
ducible, and the patient will show that characteristic anxious 
countenance so common to many fatal afflictions. The sub¬ 
acute variety may last several weeks or even abort spontaneous¬ 
ly. Such hernia although not generally referred to in our text¬ 
books on surgery are by no means uncommon in the horse. 
We have observed them repeatedly, both in the entire horse and 
geldings. Colics in ruptured horses must always be cautiously 
approached. If not caused by the hernia the pressure of tym¬ 
panites may cause strangulation in an otherwise innocent hernia. 
Operative Treatment .—In the early stage the pain of strang¬ 
ulated hernia may be aborted by placing the patient on its back 
and reducing the hernia by manipulation, but in case of failure 
the surgeon must at once prepare for operation. Delay is a 
dangerous element. The parts are well cleaned with strong 
antiseptic, the patient rolled in the dorsal position with the pos¬ 
terior extremity well elevated, and an incision carefully made 
so as to expose the hernial contents. The bowels are then 
oiled and punctured with a small trocar and cannla to facilitate 
reposition and to reduce their volume. If the contents still re¬ 
sist reduction the orifice is enlarged with a probe-pointed bis¬ 
toury which will always permit them to slip back into the cav- 
