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A Difficult Parturition
A Difficult Parturition
413
2. At 2 o'clock the same day as No.1, an old cow due to calve. Seen in the morning early, and thought to be all right. About mid-day the owner went out to bring her in so as to be handy when she calved, and foun d she was rambling. After crossing one field she fell and was unable to rise, and the owner thought she was suffering from milk feve r. At firs t sight I thought his diagnosis was correct , but a closer examination speedily undeceived us. Again only one quarter was affected, but she died a t 4 p.m., exactly four hours after being first noticed to be ill. 3. A heifer, which had never had a calf and was not in calf, but was being fattened . History similar to the other two. She died wi thin 24 hours. I have h ad 11 of these cases within the past seven days, all in d ifferent directions, and all died . Cases have occurred during this same period in cows in full milk , and trea tm ent has been given fairly early, i .e., after the owner had , as is commonly done, treated them himself for 24 hours or so before seeking advice, but so far as I am concerned , the result has been very unsatisfactory. Inj ections into th e mammary gland of antiseptic solutions (I have tried a variety) have seemed to accentuate the disease and free incisions into the gland or teat t o evacuate th e evil-smelling fluids have been of little use unless adopted early, at which stage the owner is very reluctant to give his consent. I shall be interested to hear how others have got on with this outbreak , as it must be fairly universal , and what treatment they have adopted. Since writing the above I have been called to two cases, the property , of one owner, a butcher, both being fa ttened, and one is down a nd unable to rise already, although only noticed ill six hours previously.
A DIFFICULT PARTURlTION. By D. E . WILKINSON , Cla ss C, Royal Veterinary Collegr, L ondon, N. W.
ONE night during the war, I was called out to deliver a cow, which stated to be unable to calve. The subj ect , a fat Shorthorn , in ca lf for the second timp, was " due" and s trainin~ vigorously, hut no calf was presented in the vagina. Examination revealed an impelTious and schirrh ous os uteri. On enquiry, I found tha t she had had a difficult pa rturition with her ti rst calf and was somewhat badly lacera ted during delivery. I was able, aft er a time, to get my index finger through the os a nd I th en attempted to dilate it. Finding this impossible, I passed a prob e-pointed curved bistoury th rough into the uterus and carefully WaS
414
The ' Veterinary Journal
withdrew it , making four in cisions half-way through the h ard and constricted as, and taking the greatest care not to go right through it. I was then able to insert my hand a nd to feel a live calf, and t o my delight easily dilate the os. The h eifer continued to strain vigorously, and in a few minutes th e calf's head was in th e vagina and I began to think my task was almost accomplish ed. I was soon undeceived when I a ttempted to get up a foreleg. I roped both th e calf' s fore-feet without difficulty, but h e was so large, and th e vaginal passage so small that it was a matter of impossibility to get a foreleg and the head up a t the same time; much less both forelegs and th e h ead. I tried pushing hack the head and bringing up th e foreleg, but th en the sh oulder blocked the whole passage. , After some two hours' hard work I inform ed th e owner it was impossible to deliver th e calf alive and obtained his r eluctant consent to kill it and perform an embryotomy. I cut th e calf's throat, cut off its head as far back as possible, and th en pulled up both forelegs into the passage, on ly to find th e shoulders jammed in th e maternal pelvis. Skinning the foreleg, I pulled it off and th en thought d elivery was certain , bnt found the trunk alon e t oo bulky for delivery. I then cut out the first two ribs and evi scerated th e fce tus through the a p erture thus formed , passed in my embryotomy chisel and cutting th e ribs in two, thus collapsing the chest . Then. by traction on th e remaining forelimb, the trunk of the fcetus was ex tracted , onl~,' to fi nd t h at the angles of th e haunch and t he hind limbs r efused to pass through the maternal pelvis. Th e chisel was again in serted and th e pelvis broken down a t the pubic symphysis, and the shaft of th e right ilium cut in two , thus breaking down the p elvic girdle and allowing the right hind leg to fall obliquely behind the left on e; aftel which the fcetus was· ultimately ex tract ed after a protracted and exhausting operation. Th e heifer appeared none th e worse for her experience wh en I visited h er n ext day, and milked for several month s, after which she was fatt ened a nd sold for beef. The chisel I use is th a t described on p. 3<19 of William s' " Veterinary Obstetrics." It is made of st eel -~ in . diameter a nd 30 in . length, with a strong ring handle, the chisel end 2 in. wide and tapering gradually backwa rds t owards the handle for a distan ce of ·i t in. The chisel blade is i in. thick so that it may go through any fec t al bone without breaking or b ending ; and its cutting edge is slightly concave: to avoid risk of side-slip. -
Dislocation of Neck of Camel
415
It is thus stout enough to bear blows with a mallet to drive it half way through a bone which is then fractured by twisting the chi~el by means of a stout stick passed through the handle. Tn my experience it is far preferable to any chain-saw. as if carefully used it will cut through any tissues without injury to the mother, and is far more easy to insert . use am! remove than a chain-saw.
DISLOCATION OF THE NECK OF THE CAMEL. By T. A.
B. COC KSEDGE, M.R.C.V.S.,
r'eterinary f)r/>arl.nenl , BlIma, British "amnliland.
I have had four cases of dislocations of the neck in the camel during the last six months. and am entirely unable to account for it,
Photograph showing a Typical Appcarancf' of the Di<; location of the Neck.
as on post-mortem in no case have I found anything beyond displacement and local injury to ligaments and muscles; no sign of any predisposing cause.
413
2. At 2 o'clock the same day as No.1, an old cow due to calve. Seen in the morning early, and thought to be all right. About mid-day the owner went out to bring her in so as to be handy when she calved, and foun d she was rambling. After crossing one field she fell and was unable to rise, and the owner thought she was suffering from milk feve r. At firs t sight I thought his diagnosis was correct , but a closer examination speedily undeceived us. Again only one quarter was affected, but she died a t 4 p.m., exactly four hours after being first noticed to be ill. 3. A heifer, which had never had a calf and was not in calf, but was being fattened . History similar to the other two. She died wi thin 24 hours. I have h ad 11 of these cases within the past seven days, all in d ifferent directions, and all died . Cases have occurred during this same period in cows in full milk , and trea tm ent has been given fairly early, i .e., after the owner had , as is commonly done, treated them himself for 24 hours or so before seeking advice, but so far as I am concerned , the result has been very unsatisfactory. Inj ections into th e mammary gland of antiseptic solutions (I have tried a variety) have seemed to accentuate the disease and free incisions into the gland or teat t o evacuate th e evil-smelling fluids have been of little use unless adopted early, at which stage the owner is very reluctant to give his consent. I shall be interested to hear how others have got on with this outbreak , as it must be fairly universal , and what treatment they have adopted. Since writing the above I have been called to two cases, the property , of one owner, a butcher, both being fa ttened, and one is down a nd unable to rise already, although only noticed ill six hours previously.
A DIFFICULT PARTURlTION. By D. E . WILKINSON , Cla ss C, Royal Veterinary Collegr, L ondon, N. W.
ONE night during the war, I was called out to deliver a cow, which stated to be unable to calve. The subj ect , a fat Shorthorn , in ca lf for the second timp, was " due" and s trainin~ vigorously, hut no calf was presented in the vagina. Examination revealed an impelTious and schirrh ous os uteri. On enquiry, I found tha t she had had a difficult pa rturition with her ti rst calf and was somewhat badly lacera ted during delivery. I was able, aft er a time, to get my index finger through the os a nd I th en attempted to dilate it. Finding this impossible, I passed a prob e-pointed curved bistoury th rough into the uterus and carefully WaS
414
The ' Veterinary Journal
withdrew it , making four in cisions half-way through the h ard and constricted as, and taking the greatest care not to go right through it. I was then able to insert my hand a nd to feel a live calf, and t o my delight easily dilate the os. The h eifer continued to strain vigorously, and in a few minutes th e calf's head was in th e vagina and I began to think my task was almost accomplish ed. I was soon undeceived when I a ttempted to get up a foreleg. I roped both th e calf' s fore-feet without difficulty, but h e was so large, and th e vaginal passage so small that it was a matter of impossibility to get a foreleg and the head up a t the same time; much less both forelegs and th e h ead. I tried pushing hack the head and bringing up th e foreleg, but th en the sh oulder blocked the whole passage. , After some two hours' hard work I inform ed th e owner it was impossible to deliver th e calf alive and obtained his r eluctant consent to kill it and perform an embryotomy. I cut th e calf's throat, cut off its head as far back as possible, and th en pulled up both forelegs into the passage, on ly to find th e shoulders jammed in th e maternal pelvis. Skinning the foreleg, I pulled it off and th en thought d elivery was certain , bnt found the trunk alon e t oo bulky for delivery. I then cut out the first two ribs and evi scerated th e fce tus through the a p erture thus formed , passed in my embryotomy chisel and cutting th e ribs in two, thus collapsing the chest . Then. by traction on th e remaining forelimb, the trunk of the fcetus was ex tracted , onl~,' to fi nd t h at the angles of th e haunch and t he hind limbs r efused to pass through the maternal pelvis. Th e chisel was again in serted and th e pelvis broken down a t the pubic symphysis, and the shaft of th e right ilium cut in two , thus breaking down the p elvic girdle and allowing the right hind leg to fall obliquely behind the left on e; aftel which the fcetus was· ultimately ex tract ed after a protracted and exhausting operation. Th e heifer appeared none th e worse for her experience wh en I visited h er n ext day, and milked for several month s, after which she was fatt ened a nd sold for beef. The chisel I use is th a t described on p. 3<19 of William s' " Veterinary Obstetrics." It is made of st eel -~ in . diameter a nd 30 in . length, with a strong ring handle, the chisel end 2 in. wide and tapering gradually backwa rds t owards the handle for a distan ce of ·i t in. The chisel blade is i in. thick so that it may go through any fec t al bone without breaking or b ending ; and its cutting edge is slightly concave: to avoid risk of side-slip. -
Dislocation of Neck of Camel
415
It is thus stout enough to bear blows with a mallet to drive it half way through a bone which is then fractured by twisting the chi~el by means of a stout stick passed through the handle. Tn my experience it is far preferable to any chain-saw. as if carefully used it will cut through any tissues without injury to the mother, and is far more easy to insert . use am! remove than a chain-saw.
DISLOCATION OF THE NECK OF THE CAMEL. By T. A.
B. COC KSEDGE, M.R.C.V.S.,
r'eterinary f)r/>arl.nenl , BlIma, British "amnliland.
I have had four cases of dislocations of the neck in the camel during the last six months. and am entirely unable to account for it,
Photograph showing a Typical Appcarancf' of the Di<; location of the Neck.
as on post-mortem in no case have I found anything beyond displacement and local injury to ligaments and muscles; no sign of any predisposing cause.