448 
REPORTS OF CASES. 
were placed upon the legs of the lateral biped ; the dislocation 
was reduced, and though he was kept in that uncomfortable 
position for three days, no satisfactory result was obtained. 
The case then assumed a very unfavorable aspect. The leg 
was becoming excessively atrophied, the animal began to lose flesh, 
his appetite became poor, and everything seemed to indicate a 
failure to relieve him. 
It was then that the propriety of subcutaneous myotomy pre¬ 
sented itself. The operation carefully thought of and spoken of 
to the owner, was at last decided upon and performed by Dr. 
Liautard on the 9th of September. Having been given a dose of 
chloral and being kept under restraint with a twitch, a small in¬ 
cision was made at the lower border of the anterior part of the 
biceps femoris, and a curved blunt bistoury about three inches 
long introduced under the skin; when its sharp edge was turned 
on the muscle the division of the fibres was plainly heard, and 
when the muscle was thought to be entirely divided, the animal 
allowed to go, the patella having returned at once to its position, 
to be followed by an immediate displacement. After waiting a 
few days to have the parts healed, which they did with little sup¬ 
puration, the owner was notified of the failure of the operation, 
when, being undecided as to what course to pursue, he was kept 
at the hospital. 
On the morning of September 27th, when the groom was en¬ 
tering his stall to feed, the horse made a sudden turn, slipped and 
fell down; he rapidly regained his feet, was up in a moment, and 
when called upon to move was found moving the leg with perfect 
action, walking with a firm, steady step, although occasionally 
showing a slight lancinating pain in the limb, which disappeared 
in a few days. He was exercised every day, improving rapidly 
in form as well as in action until the 14th of October, when he 
was discharged in his normal condition. 
Remarks .— Is it an error, when considering the rapid and 
unexpected recovery, to suppose that the division of the muscle at 
the time of the operation was imperfect, but was completed when 
the animal fell, and thus confirming the propriety of the opera¬ 
tion in cases of such long standing? 
