Surgery & Wound Management

A useful protocol for practitioners who review their own films or send them to a specialist is to routinely obtain orthogonal views of the affected and normal bones.

A BAL should not be performed on a horse with overt respiratory distress, tachycardia or pulmonary hypertension.

In the first article in this series, we provided a brief overview of the two surgical procedures that addressed the active, abnormal biomechanics of the cranial cruciate ligament deficient stifle-Tibial Tuberosity Advancement and Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy.

In 1915, Sir Frederick Hobday, a British veterinary surgeon, noted that "it is of no avail to have done any operation, however clever, if the patient succumbs to the anesthetic."

Madison, Wis. -- A new injectable pain drug being studied at the University of Wisconsin (UW) could actually help animals recover faster after surgery.

The laryngeal functions are to regulate airflow, voice production and prevent inhalation of food.

Brachycephalic breeds (Shih Tzu, boxer English and French Bulldog, Pekingese, pug and Boston terrier) have a shortened skull compared to the other breeds.

Gastric dilatation volvulus syndrome is an acute medical and surgical condition due to several pathophysiological effects occurring secondary to gastric distension and mal-positioning. It occurs most commonly in large, deep chested dogs.

There are a number of minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures that are currently performed using laparoscopy.

Dogs and cats are very commonly presented for management of acute or chronic wounds in veterinary practice.

Portosystemic shunt (PSS) is an abnormal vessel that shunts portal blood from the splanchnic circulation to flow directly to the systemic circulation by passing the liver.

Inflammatory conditions of the pleura may be dry, serofibrinous, pyogranulomatous, or purulent.

Nutritional support is required for anorexic patients, debilitated patients, patients in a high catabolic stage (peritonitis, sepsis, burns), or stressed patients (surgical patient).

Most cases of equine lameness are treated with a combination of medical and other non-surgical methods.

Gastrointestinal surgery is performed very commonly in small animal for biopsy, removal of a foreign body, upper gastrointestinal bleeding, resection of a necrotic segment of intestine, resection of necrotic portion of the stomach, and resection of a neoplasia.

Information on cesarean section in goats and sheep and nerve blocks, castration, and dehorning in goats.

Since rabbits are a highly sensitive prey species, a very conscientious effort needs to be made to reduce stress, pain and any other factors that could be a detriment to their health in the peri-operative period.

Anesthesia is most easily performed by intravenous infiltration of lidocaine distal to a tourniquet on the metatarsus or metacarpus. Lidocaine without epinephrine, 20 to 30 ml, is infused using a butterfly catheter (19 g, 15 to 25 cm).

The diagnosis of hip dysplasia is commonly practiced but in my opinion is frequently misunderstood.

Hernia refers to the abnormal protrusion of an organ or tissue through a normal or abnormal opening in the abdominal muscles or in the diaphragm.

It is important not to forget that the ear can be an indicator of other systemic problems, for example, hypothyroidism, generalized dermatitis, eczema, etc. Therefore remain alert of other problems when diseases of the ear are seen.

Reptile surgery can be very complicated. Luckily in this day and age of reptile medicine, we are afforded several options for anesthetic as well as surgical techniques.

Use a systematic approach to ensure that you do not miss any problems. In general I use an eight step approach to the orthopedic examination.

Lacerations to the stallion's penis typically occur when a stallion attempts to breed a mare across a fence, from the mare's tail hair or breeding stitch during coitus, or from improperly fitted stallion rings.

The goal of nonsurgical and/or surgical management of the developmental abnormalities of the elbow is to slow the progression OA in the joint and reduce lameness in the patient.