126 
DEPARTMENT OF SURGERY. 
tion and with as little tension upon the threads as possible. The 
skin of a wound that is a few hours old always curls in¬ 
ward and unless some care is exercised in stitching they will 
remain so after the stitches are tied. Bad healing, bursting of 
the stitches, etc., are often traceable to this cause. When a wound 
is swollen or is so located that it will require some force to bring 
the edges together the stitches must be inserted farther from the 
margin of the wound and must be placed deeper so that there 
will be enough tissue included to retain its vitality against the 
strangulating effect of the threads. In simple incised wounds 
of the skin one centimeter from the edge is sufficient, while in 
larger ones from two to four centimeters is none too far. As 
regards the depth of sutures it should vary from merely through 
the skin in simple wounds to the very depth of the deeper ones 
if deemed necessary to keep the walls in apposition until adhe¬ 
sion has taken place. 
Where there has been no great amount of new tissue to form 
the sixth or seventh day will find the wound well healed, so the 
sutures might as well be removed. In the case of more exten¬ 
sive traumata, even if the edges have failed to adhere, their re¬ 
moval is advisable on the sixth or seventh day, for at this time 
they will be found too septic, or at least too suspicious, to war¬ 
rant their further retention. 
Protection Against Infection During Healing .—This step of 
wound treatment has been discussed in detail in the February 
and March numbers under the head of u Occlusive Dressings f so 
that little remains to be said. The difficulty of perfectly exe¬ 
cuting this step in domestic animal surgery has already been 
mentioned and repeated, yet in spite of the difficulty, veterinary 
wounds need never be left entirely unprotected. There is al¬ 
ways a way, even if the covering is not absolutely occlusive. 
Fabric bandages are all that may be desired as far as the ex¬ 
tremities are concerned, while dry antiseptic powders repeatedly 
applied, and viscid, sticky substances for wounds of the trunk 
will frequently give satisfaction. The principle that must never 
be lost sight of is to make the dressing as perfectly protective 
as possible without interfering with the drainage. A fabric 
dressing should be porous enough to promptly absorb the 
wound secretions if applied to a wound that will secrete much, 
while on the other hand, if little or no secretion is expected, it 
should be made perfectly occlusive. The same precaution must 
be taken in wounds that are protected with plasters. A simple 
one that will secrete but little may be entirely covered with col- 
