=Gauze-drainage.=--Capillary drainage with gauze is sometimes more convenient than drainage with the tube. A strip, about 2 inches in width, of several layers of gauze should be carried, from the part of the pelvis to be drained, out through the lower angle of the abdominal incision. When the sutures are introduced the lower angle of the incision should not be too tightly closed, or drainage will be impeded. The extra-abdominal end of the gauze drain should be surrounded and covered by several layers of loosely-packed gauze and by the abdominal pad and binder. Sterile cotton should be tucked under the binder immediately above the pubis, and, if necessary, around the upper and lateral margins of the pad. The dressing need not be disturbed for one, two, or three days, unless the discharge has soaked through the abdominal binder. A convenient capillary drain is made of a gauze bag containing several strips of gauze. One objection to the gauze drain is the difficulty of removal. Lymph-processes and granulations penetrate the interstices of the gauze, and often render its removal very difficult. The surgeon fears to use too much force in attempts at withdrawal, because an adherent loop of intestine or the omentum may be pulled out of place or damaged, or the lymph-wall of the drainage-tract may become opened and expose the general peritoneum to infection. To avoid this difficulty the writer has for some time employed a drain made by surrounding the gauze bag with an ordinary rubber condom the end of which has been cut open (Fig. 204). With this arrangement the surgeon may feel certain that there are no adhesions except at the end of the drain. Such drains may be removed as easily as the glass tube. The condom may be sterilized by boiling. Gauze drains should be removed at the end of two or three days. After withdrawing the gauze it is advisable to insert a small rubber tube, for reasons that have been mentioned in considering the use of the glass drainage-tube. The gauze drain may be used in all cases except when it is necessary to drain pus or some solid material like feces. In such cases the glass tube should be employed, either alone or surrounded by a gauze pack to protect the general peritoneum. In pelvic surgery the drain, whether glass or gauze, should, as a rule, be placed at the most dependent part of the pelvis, which is the bottom of Douglas’s pouch. It may be placed to either side of the median line in case the chief discharge is expected to take place from this position. Hemorrhage from a bleeding surface deep in the pelvis may often be controlled by the direct pressure of the end of the gauze drain placed over it. [Illustration: FIG. 204.--Gauze drain with rubber cover.] The drain should be introduced immediately before the abdominal sutures are tied.