ASEPTIC CASTRATION OF MALE ANIMALS. 
271 
bent. The agent in itself must be sterile and capable of re¬ 
maining so. The method of ligation of the spermatic artery 
which was performed in the last three cases deserves still 
further trial, as in two cases there was very little swelling, 
practically none. In case XII there was considerable swelling, 
but this can be accounted for by the accident caused by remov¬ 
ing the animal from the table before it was able to stand. The 
principal reason to recommend this method is that we introduce 
a smaller ligature and cause the death of a less amount of tis¬ 
sue, which must be resorbed. 
The objection raised to the performance of the aseptic opera¬ 
tion in private practice is that it is not practical and that it re¬ 
quires a skilled operator and great care in reference to tech¬ 
nique. The objections can be refuted by reference to the con¬ 
densed table on pages 266 and 267. This gives the previous ex¬ 
perience of the operator in castration, the previous experience 
with the aseptic operation, the mode of operating and the results 
obtained. By reference to this, it will be seen that nine differ¬ 
ent men operated during this series of observations, six of whom 
had not castrated an animal before, and yet every one of these 
obtained healing by primary adhesion. 
It would appear that if the operation could be carried out 
successfully by an inexperienced student, that it would be prac¬ 
tical in private practice, especially with a surgeon, who has be¬ 
come skillful in the manipulation of the testicle, and who has a 
thorough knowledge of aseptic surgery. The operating table 
was used as the method of restraint in connection with the use 
of a general anaesthetic in these cases, though it would appear 
that casting an animal upon clean, green turf would be as suc¬ 
cessful, but the general anaesthetic is almost a necessity to ob¬ 
tain practical antisepsis. 
With the present methods of operating, and after treat¬ 
ment of the wounds, the veterinarian cannot expect to obtain 
any better results than the empiric, who uses the same methods 
and can do the operation for a much smaller fee than the vet¬ 
erinarian. 
