Rumination - 4

“Bony Theory and Flesh of Practice”


Recently, sensational news was published in the news papers about a sanitary worker of a hospital in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The sanitary worker removed a tumour successfully from the neck of a child before the surgeon entered the theatre. Though it is considered as an improper as well as a criminal act, we have to appreciate his surgical skill which he had inculcated during his service by assisting many surgeons in the theatre.

I too had such an experience during my early days of service. Within 4 months of service in a rural minor veterinary dispensary, I was transferred to a taluk headquarters dispensary during the 3rd week of December, 1959. The dispensary was located in a rented building with facility for residential quarters to veterinary asst.sugeon. In the midnight of the second day of my joining duty, the night duty attendant woke me up and informed that a farmer had come in a taxi from a village 10 miles away to pick me up to his village to attend his animal suffering from dystokia. But, I was hesitant to move out during that winter night since I had a fear that I could not return to my morning duty (6 am) in time after attending the dystokia. However, the farmer besought me to help him by attending his animal which was struggling to deliver the foetus since that evening. My attendant also persuaded me to help the farmer. Then, my attendant and myself proceeded to that village with necessary kit gathered by my senior and experienced attendant.
During my 10 miles journey in the taxi in that cold night I was recollecting from my memory the “Bovine dystokia” taught to me in the college. There was no separate Dept. of O&G during my college days. The theory of Obstetrics was taught by surgery teachers along with surgery. We did not have an opportunity to handle “Bovine dystokia” due to want of such cases in the cattle ward of the college hospital. Though I had theoretical knowledge I had no practical training to handle bovine dystokia in field conditions. Furthur, it was my first dystokia case in my professional career. So, I was in jittery mood and also I was mentally preparing me to face the situation.

My musing was suddenly interrupted by stoppage of taxi. Within 30 minutes of travel, the taxi drew up near a vacant field where a man was standing with a hurricane light. The farmer informed that the animal was lying down nearly 2000 yards away in the open field. In that dark night we reached the site with the help of a lantern. I could see nothing outside the circle of flickering lantern which the farmer held before me. When I tried to physically examine the cow I was shocked. Both the fore limbs were protruding out of vagina and they were highly oedematous. The foetus was dead. There was no space even to introduce my little finger. When I enquired the other man guarding the animal he revealed the truth that the poor animal was suffering for the past 2 days and many quacks around the village had tried to remove the calf merely by pulling the fore limbs not knowing that will only worsen the condition. Unfortunately, even to-day most of the rural farmers approach the vets only after approaching the locally available quacks who instead of mitigate only complicate the most instances.

Recollecting my theoretical knowledge I decided to deliver the dead foetus by embryotomy (to-day’s Nomenclature: subcutaneous fetotomy). Unfortunately my experienced attendant had failed to bring the Thygesen embryotome kit due to 2 reasons.
1. Sine the farmer misinformed the real situation
2. My attendant was not familiar with Thygesen embryotome kit which was imported and supplied only a week back to that dispensary.
I was flabbergast in that situation. There was no time to return back to dispensary to bring Thygesen embryotome kit.


I bewailed to my attendant for his failure to bring the embryotome kit.
“No problem Sir, We can deliver the calf” he replied confidently.
Then he adjured the farmer to go and bring an used wooden churning staff, immediately.




I was wondering as to why he wanted a used wooden churning –staff in that juncture. However, when a used wooden churning-staff was brought, he removed the head from the handle and chiselled one end of the handle sharply like a sharpened pencil ( Fig.1). Then he requested me to make a circular incision around the hoof to separate the skin from the hoof of one protruding forelimb. When I made the incision by using embryotomy knife (Fig.2),



he pushed the tip of the sharpened end of wooden handle in 45 degree angle into the incision facing towards the uterus and then gave a blow forcefully by a wooden log on the other end. It created a skin tear up to the shoulder of the foetus. I understood the principle of his action.

Normally, when Deburin’s chisel (Fig.3) used during subcutaneous fetotomy the sharpened tip will be passed in a convenient angle above hoof and then pressed forcefully towards the uterus by holding the handle in the other end.



By this way a skin tear will be created from the hoof to the shoulder. Then by twisting the limb it will be removed from the body. Both the forelimbs also will be removed the same way to have a sufficient space to introduce the hands in to the uterus to correct the posture of the foetus and to remove it from the uterus.

By using his technique I removed both the limbs of the dead foetus. Then I easily introduced my hand into the uterus and found that the foetus was in foot nape posture ( Fig. 4)




After correction I removed the dead foetus by traction.
Since my attendant had served under many vets from the age of 7, he had learnt many practical techniques. This incident taught me a lesson that

“Mere theoretical knowledge will not be sufficient to be a successful practitioner in the field condition. Only when the bony theoretical knowledge is covered with the flesh of practical experience one can be shaped into a full-fledged successful veterinarian,”