Text book of veterinary medicine, Volume 2 (of 5)Law, James
Science
Text book of veterinary medicine, Volume 2 (of 5)
Law, James
Veterinary medicine
=Rumenotomy.= The warrant for this operation is found in the entire lack
of movement in the rumen, the absence of eructation, the cessation of
rumbling and motion of the bowels, and the deepening of the stupor in
which the patient is plunged. The longer the delay and the deeper the
stupor and prostration the less the likelihood of a successful issue
from the operation. The animal is made to stand with its right side
against a wall, and its nose held by the fingers or bulldog forceps. If
judged necessary a rope may be passed from a ring in the wall in front
of the shoulder around the animal to another ring behind the thigh and
held tight. Or a strong bar with a fulcrum in front, may be pressed
against the left side of the body, and well down so as to keep the right
side fast against the wall. A line may be clipped from the point of
election for puncture in tympany down for a distance of six inches. A
sharp pointed knife is now plunged through the walls of the abdomen and
rumen in the upper part of this line, and is slowly withdrawn, cutting
downward and outward until the opening is large enough to admit the
hand. The lips of the wound in the overdistended stomach will now bulge
out through to the wound in the abdominal walls, and three stitches on
each side may be taken through these structures to prevent displacement
as the stomach is emptied and rendered more flaccid. A cloth wrung out
of a mercuric chloride solution may be laid in the lower part of the
wound to guard against any escape of liquid into the peritoneal cavity.
The contents may now be removed with the hand, until the organ has been
left but moderately full. Two or three stable bucketfuls are usually
taken, but it is by no means necessary nor desirable that the rumen be
left empty, as a moderate amount of food is requisite to ensure its
functional activity. As a rule at least fifty pounds should be left.
Before closing the wound and especially in cases due to dry feeding, it
is well in a tolerably large animal to introduce the hand through the
demicanal to ascertain if impactions exist in the third stomach and to
break up these so far as they can be reached. This done, the edges of
the wound in the stomach are to be carefully cleansed, washed with the
mercuric chloride solution and sewed together with carbolated catgut,
care being taken to turn the mucosa inward and to retain the muscular
and peritoneal layers in close contact with each other. It will usually
be convenient to cut first the two lower stitches through the abdominal
walls, and suture from below upward. When finished the peritoneal
surface of the gastric wound may be again sponged with the mercuric
chloride solution, together with the edges of the wound in the abdominal
walls. Finally the abdominal wound is sutured, the stitches including
the skin only or the muscular tissues as well. The smooth surface of the
paunch acts as an internal pad and support, and with due care as to
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