Special report on diseases of the horse by United States. Bureau of Animal Industry & Michener Charles B. 1838-

Author:United States. Bureau of Animal Industry & Michener, Charles B., 1838-
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Horses, Horse Diseases
Publisher: Washington : Govt. Print. Off.
Published: 1896-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

The reduction of the fracture having been accomplished, the problem which follows is that of retention. The parts which have been restored to their natural position must be kept there, without disturbance or agitation, until the perfect formation of a callus, and it is here that ample latitude exists for the exercise of ingenuity and skill by the surgeon in the contrivance of the necessary apparatus. One of the most important of the conditions which are available by the surgeon in

treating' human patients is denied to the veterinarian in the management of those which belong to the animal tribes. This is position. The intelligence of the human patient co-operates with the instructions of the surgeon, but with the animal sufferer there is a continual antagonism between the i^arties, and the forced extension and fatiguing position which must for a considerable period be maintained as a condition of restoration require special and effective appliances to insure successful results. To obtain complete immobility is scarcely jiossible, and the surgeon must be content to reach a point as near as possible to that which is unattainable. For this reason, as will subsequently be seen, the use of slings and the restraint of patients in very narrow stalls is much to be preferred to the practice sometimes recommended, of allowing entire freedom of motion by turning them loose in box stalls. Temporary and movable apparatus are not usually of difiicult use in veterinary practice, but the restlessness of the patients and their unwillingness to submit quietly to the changing of the dressings render it obligatory to have recourse to permanent and immovable bandages, which should be retained without disturbance until the process of consolidation is complete.

The materials composing the retaining apparatus consist of oakum, bandages, and splints, with an agglutinating compound which forms a species of cement by which the different constituents are blended into a consistent mass to be spread ui^on the surface covering the locality of the fracture. Its components are black pitch, rosin, and Venice turpentine, blended by heat. The dressing may be applied directly to the skin, or a covering of thin linen may be interposed. A putty made with powdered chalk and the white of egg is recommended for small animals, though a mixture of sugar of lead and burnt alum with the albumen is preferred by others. Another formula is spirits of camphor, Goulard's extract and albumen. Another recommendation is to saturate the oakum and bandages with an adhesive solution formed with gum arable, dextrine, flour j)aste, or starch. This is advised particularly for small animals. Dextrine mixed, Avhile warm, with burnt alum and alcohol cools and solidifies into a stony consistency, and is preferable to plaster of Paris, which is less friable and has less solidity, besides being heavier and requiring constant additions as it becomes older. Starch and plaster of Paris form another good compound.

In applying the dressing the leg is usually padded with a cushion of oakum, thick and soft enough to equalize the irregularities of the surface and to form a bedding for the protection of the skin from chafing.

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