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In case of concurrent acute thelitis and severe mastitis, an immediate surgery of the stenosis ("emergency splitting") might be justified in order to improve milkability as a prerequisite for the removal of pathological milk secretion and therapy, successful mastitis therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the milkability and the clinical cure rate of mastitis between Group A (n = 19, cows with stenosis, thelitis and mastitis) and Group B (n = 19, cows with stenosis, with or without clinical mastitis, but without acute thelitis) following surgery of the papillary duct using a cutting instrument (Danish cannula model with a double cutting edge). In most cases, milkability was restored at the end of the treatment in both groups (Group A: 89.5%; Group B: 100%). In this time period nine of 19 quarters with mastitis in Group A were clinically cured (47%). Six month after the surgery, the animal owners considered the milkability as very good in 70% and 72% of the cases in Group A and Group B, respectively. However, "emergency splitting" led to a more intensive and longer postsurgical treatment. The average duration of total treatment (day of surgery plus 6 days of obligate postsurgical treatment plus additional treatment days) was 7.4 and 6.7 days in Group A and Group B, respectively. Furthermore, the higher expenditure was due to the more costly mastitis therapy. During the six month following surgery, only one cow of Group A had to be culled due to persistent mastitis and two cows because of insufficient milkability.

Uterus, uterine tubes, and ovaries of a cow were obtained from the local abattoir. Post-mortem findings indicate a subacute to chronic endometritis, caused by a cigarette-lighter found in utero. The uterine mucosa, covered with mucopurulent secretions, was focally stained black by sulfhemoglobin. Regressed corpora lutea of different sizes and the absence of macroscopically visible tertiary follicles indicate irregularities of the estrous cycle.

Based on a case analysis of patients with caesarean section (n = 252) performed at the Clinic for Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Cattle of the Veterinary School of Hannover, it was the aim of the following study to make a contribution to the aetiology of wound complications following caesarean section. Wound complications were classified as mild, moderate or severe according to the following criteria: mild: slight swelling in the area of the wound (wound edema or slight phlegmon), especially in the ventral corner; healing without therapy (n = 17 [6.7%]), moderate: seroma and moderate phlegmon; wound healing after conservative treatment with hyperemizing ointments (n = 16 [6.3%]), severe: secondary wound healing after lancing of the abscess, rinsing with acridine colour solution and hydrogen peroxide solution plus drainage with iodoform gauze (n = 23 [9.1%]). The following factors had a significant effect on the healing process: duration of parturition (18% and 37.7% wound complications in animal with normal and prolonged labor, respectively); macroscopic condition of the allantoic and/or amniotic fluid (19.7% and 47.8% wound complications in animals with normal and pathologic allantoic and/or amniotic fluid; respectively); degree of the exposure of the uterus outside the laparotomy wound (13.4% and 51.7% wound complications in cases with complete exposure of the uterus [i.e. complete exposure of the pregnant horn with one limb of the fetus, e.g. in anterior position, from hock joint to the claws] and incomplete or no exposure of the uterus, respectively).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

868 parturitions were examined to determine the relation between the clinical mastitis around partition and the loosening process of the placenta in the bovine. The occurrence of mastitis in heifers and cows around parturition was 18.7%. The frequency of retained placenta in animals with mastitis was significantly higher (p less than 0.01) than that in animals without mastitis influenced the loosening process of the afterbirth. The results support an hypothesis, that mastitis and retentio secundinarum can regard as signs of the decrease in the activity of the immune system.

In the published statistical reports of liability insurance companies for veterinarians a high percentage of damage claims falls into the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, particularly in the bovine species. Veterinarians are held responsible for the consequences of insufficient clinical examinations of female animals or, after a correct diagnosis, initiation of therapeutic measures that ar not indicated. An increasing number of damage claims is due to the fact that the veterinarian has not informed the owner of an animal in advance about the possible medical or economic risks of a particular treatment. From the expert opinions requested of our clinic by insurance companies and law courts, it can be concluded that in veterinary obstetrics, lesions and damages occurring during vaginal deliveries are still the most frequent cause of compensation claims. Veterinarians are blamed for the use of too much traction force (number of persons assisting in an extraction, use of mechanical calf-pullers) and for incorrect procedures during the manual or instrumental correction of postural or positional abnormalities or a uterine torsion. Also, in case of complications after obstetrical surgery owners suspect failure of the veterinarian. Many losses in the puerperal period are due to the fact that the clinical examination after an obstetrical intervention has not been performed with the necessary accuracy or has been completely omitted. Compensation claims after gynaecological procedures are mostly based on a falsely positive or negative pregnancy diagnosis and complications after surgery involving the ovaries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)