EDITORIAL. 
147 
the failure that has followed the efforts to prevent the importa¬ 
tion of foot and mouth disease, or the spreading of contagious 
plcuro pneumonia is taken into consideration, the necessary con¬ 
clusions must follow that much, if not all, still remains to be 
done, in the organization of a genuine veterinary sanitary ser¬ 
vice. 
PROGRESS IN OPERATIVE SURGERY. 
The progress which scientific operative surgery Inis made in 
veterinary medicine since the period when the publication of 
works on surgical manipulations became more general, has naturally 
'led to the performance of more heroic operations than were un¬ 
dertaken for years before. It is in this way that the removal of 
large goitres, of enormous tumors of all kinds, and many others, 
have found their way into the ordinary manipulations of practice, 
and the current records of cases. In a recent communication to 
the Societe Centrale de Medicine Veterinaire (France), a case 
is reported, which, though not unique of its kind, is nevertheless 
worthy of serious consideration and study. It is that of the en¬ 
tire removal of the navicular bone, as a consequence of a fracture 
and necrosis, resulting from a punctured wound. The animal 
made a comparatively good recovery, and was soon able to resume 
his work. 
We have received from one of our correspondents a note 
referring to a still more wonderful result, for lie reports not 
only the entire removal of the navicular bone , but also of the os 
■pedis , in a valuable thoroughbred mare. It is unnecessary to 
say that by the exercise of a little generosity the report can be 
accepted as possibly relating to a portion of the os pedis being 
removed with the navicular, but certainly not beyond that. The 
removal of the small sesamoid is by itself a very rare and suc¬ 
cessful operation. But if complicated with necrosis of part of 
the os pedis the chances of recovery are very small. But when 
it comes to a question of the entire third phalanx, there must be 
an error in the reports, notwithstanding the affidavits of parties 
undoubtedly honest, but certainly incompetent to judge, with 
which it is fortified. 
