Surgery

When we use a circulating warm-water blanket under a surgical patient, we lay a clean towel under the blanket.

When suturing after a wedge resection from an eyelid margin, it can be challenging to keep the suture ends from irritating the eye.

The primary advantage staples provide over sutures is rapid closure.

Important interventions to help you improve a patient's chances of survival.

In this presentation, Dr. Theresa J. Fossum discusses what's new regarding risk factors for this deadly disease, what to tell your clients who have high risk pets, whether prophylactic gastropexy is indicated, what you can do to reduce mortality, how quickly you need to operate and the best gastropexy techniques to use. (1 CE credit)

Dr. Allyson Berent of New York's Animal Medical Center takes a look at the indications for interventional radiology in veterinary patients.

Dr. Chick Weisse discusses using interventional radiology to administer chemotherapeutic drugs and other oncology treatments.

A word of caution about maxillectomies.

What are the signs of this condition in puppies and kittens?

When assisting with anesthesia and surgery, our technician sets her cell phone, which is in her pocket, to vibrate every five minutes.

A reader tip for catching the drainage that results from ear hematoma surgery.

Many patients with aural hematomas have concurrent ear infections.

Check out these three options for optimal joint care and comfort.

What are the benefits of this surgical method?

What are the advantages of this treatment for canine hip dysplasia?

A variety of treatments can get patients back comfortably on all fours.

After clipping a short-haired dog for a surgical procedure, we use a sticky-paper lint roller to remove all the small hairs from its skin.

Cranial cruciate ligament injuries are some of the most common orthopedic conditions seen in small animal practice. Even so, the optimal treatment modality is hotly debated within the profession. Each new surgery is introduced with great fanfare but, in most clinical studies, the fabellar suture technique in one iteration or another has been found to be superior or equal to other methods.

Goal of all techniques is to create a mucosal tunnel extending from the urethral orifice to near the mucocutaneous junction.

Urine diversion techniques are performed to temporarily or permanently divert urine from its normal anatomic course from the kidney through the ureter to the bladder and finally through the urethra. Veterinarians are most familiar with temporary urine diversion (urethral catheters) that are often used to stabilize animals that are sick as a result of metabolic changes associated with urinary tract obstruction. Temporary diversion (peritoneal drainage) may also be used as a bridge to more definitive surgical procedures such as repair of a ruptured urinary bladder.

Laryngeal paralysis is a congenital or acquired disease that causes upper airway obstruction. Paralysis causes partial or complete obstruction of the laryngeal lumen due to denervation of the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle of the larynx. Interruption of nerve transmission from the recurrent laryngeal nerve or the vagus results in failure of the arytenoid cartilages and vocal folds to abduct on inspiration.

If the side of cryptorchidism is unknown, surgery can be prolonged and laparoscopic exploration of the abdomen may be a better approach.

Megacolon occurs more frequently in cats than dogs and is usually seen in middle-aged to geriatric cats. The ascending, transverse, and descending colon are chronically large in diameter and filled with dry stool. A congenital form of the disease has been seen especially in Manx cats with rectal/anal atresia and a sacral spinal deformity. An acquired form of the disease has been seen secondary to mechanical obstruction caused by malunion of pelvic fractures that have not had surgical treatment.

A variety of approaches have been proposed to assist in making decisions regarding fracture management. At the most basic level, the task is to evaluate what is needed and then assess one's own capabilities. In so doing, fractures that one is properly able to manage can be dealt with appropriately and mistakes can be avoided that would prove detrimental to the patient.

Canine hip dysplasia is a very common orthopedic condition and every small- or mixed-animal practitioner will see cases. Despite this, the management of this syndrome can be frustrating and confusing to the clinician as well as the client. Questions about prognosis, what surgery to recommend (and when), various aspects of medical management and more are difficult to answer definitively.

The stomach is a C-shaped musculoglandular organ. It has the largest dilatation of the alimentary canal. The stomach lies mainly in a transverse position, Predominantly to the left of the median plane. When it is empty, the stomach lies cranial to the last rib and between the ninth thoracic and first lumbar vertebra.

A number of fractures can be managed conservatively or with external coaptation. Still others can be dealt with using combinations of pins and wire. It is only when clinicians are able to utilize bone plating or external fixators that the number of manageable fractures truly expands.

Careful consideration of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative management techniques will assist in preventing complications related to anesthesia and surgery in patients with urinary tract surgical disease. Hospital acquired renal insufficiency is common in humans, seemingly less so in animals but caution is advised. Hypotension of any cause is a potential predisposing cause to renal failure.

Just as in the human population, the incidence of osteoarthritis in veterinary patients is very high. Many of the developmental diseases as well as traumatic injuries ultimately become cases of osteoarthritis management. As with any chronic progressive (and largely incurable) disease, the treatment can be frustrating. In fact, treatment of arthritis is easy when the client is patient, willing, and has a lot of money.

Rostral Mandibular & Maxillary Fractures: Fractures of the rostral mandible and premaxilla/incisive bones that can be repaired with wire or acrylic.