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On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, the Caring Pathways team joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to talk all about end-of-life care 

Leveling up end-of-life care: Excellence, compassion, and the future of veterinary hospice

Client service representatives are essential communicators, care coordinators, and compassionate advocates at the core of every veterinary team

Why client service representatives matter

With these practical tips for cat weight loss, we can empower clients to help their cats have normal body condition, while maintaining if not improving the human animal bond

Practical weight loss in cats 

Jill Clark, DVM, returns to the Vet Blast Podcast to discuss client service representative education and why it is needed

It's time for evidence-based continuing education for CSRs

Videos

Ellen Behrend, VMD, PhD, MS, DACVIM (SAIM), discusses several advantages to using an SGLT2 inhibitor in cats compared to insulin

Pros of using SGLT2 inhibitors for cats with diabetes

Skin Relief dry dog food by Rayne Nutrition was designed to help with the management of atopic dermatitis, osteoarthritis, and more

Dry dog food supporting patients with atopic dermatitis is relaunched

Read these articles to learn about eco-friendly initiatives and environmentally conscious methods that can be incorporated into clinical practice

3 must-reads on sustainability in veterinary medicine

The surgery page is a comprehensive resource for Veterinary news, animal health, and pet care insights on surgery. Read more at dvm360.

Surgery | Veterinary News & Animal Health | dvm360

dvm360 is the authority of veterinary medicine news, expert insights, animal health and pet care products, research, and regulations for veterinary professionals.

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Clinical

 surgery page is a comprehensive resource for clinical news and insights on the latest in veterinary surgery. This page consists of videos, interviews, articles, podcasts, and research on the advancements and developments of therapies for surgery, and more.

On this week's episode, Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA, shares his diagnosing and treating tips and tricks for veterinary professionals dealing with canine cranial cruciate ligament patients 

Vet Blast Podcast Epsiode: Approach to the CCL dog

On this week's episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes Karl Maritato, DVM, DACVS-SA, and a 2024 Veterinary Hero award winner, on the show to chat all about cranial cruciate ligaments (CCL) in canine patients. Throughout the episode, Maritato and Christman go over the surgical options for these patients, the importance of proper techniques, the use of braces and rehabilitation protocols, and how he encourages pet owners to consider long-term care as well as the benefits of timely surgery. 

: Where do you begin in terms of physical exam on your approach, when you're thinking, 'Oh, this one might have torn their CCL'?

Well, the first thing I do is try to not think that. I try to be unbiased, and I try to do the same exact physical exam every single time that I do it, when it's the hind limb, I always start in the toes, and I start just pushing and moving every digit through range of motion. And I'll be honest with you, if I do think the ACL is the problem, I'll actually kind of skip over that joint, because I don't want to run out of doggy minutes before they get upset with me. So I'll guide my hands up and down their legs. I just try to feel for symmetry. I try to feel for muscle atrophy. The biggest thing that I'm feeling for, if I'm feeling for an ACL just by when I'm rubbing my hands on their legs, is I'm feeling for a medial buttress in comparing the 2 sides. 

The biggest trick, I think, or thing that tricks most of the veterinarians, is the partial tears, and especially when they're somewhat early. You know, I certainly get a lot of texts saying I'm going to send you a dog. I'm not getting any drawer. So I don't know if it's an ACL. And then when I feel it, you know, I know immediately it is an ACL, because you can feel that medial buttress just really sticking out compared to the other side. So start at the toes, work my way up, just feeling muscle mass, manipulate the ankle, make sure that's all good. Another thing that can trick people is when they think it's an ACL, particularly if it's an Australian shepherd or breed like that, is luxation of the superficial physical flexor tendon. So I always try to feel the ankle to make sure that there's no popping going on down on the caudal aspect of that calcaneus. And then I run my hands up, and then that's where I start to feel for buttresses, as well as for muscle atrophy in general.

Learn more on diagnosing and treating canine patients with cranial cruciate ligament tears on this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast presented by dvm360

Approach to the CCL Dog

hosted by Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, chief veterinary officer of dvm360, and edited by 

’sCaitlin McCafferty, featured a wide variety of veterinary topics and guests throughout the past year. As 2024 comes to a close, 

 is looking back and celebrating the Top 5 podcasts, as measured by audience interest and engagement. Through, New Year’s Eve, 

is counting down the Top 5 podcasts by sharing 1 of these episodes per day.

The following podcast is #2 on the list and features guest Shadi Ireifej, DVM, DACVS, chief medical officer of VetTriage. They discuss tips that general practitioners can implement at their practice to help clinics possibly see fewer pyometra cases.

 One of the pearls I like to stress when I give pyometra talks is surgical exposure. It's all too often that very experienced, well-intentioned general practitioners will try to create as small an incision as possible for their spay. And it looks impressive, it's quicker surgery because less closing time, the pet owner loves the tiny incision which means [their pet] is not going to be in that much pain postoperatively, [and] less chance of complications. However, if you are trying to operate on a large breed dog or a deep-chested dog, and you're working in those caverns, you need to not be shy about making a larger incision in order to get access to the ovarian tissue and that uterus. You don't need to overdo it, you should be adequate. You can always make your incision longer if you need to start small and go longer, but that's point No. 1.

Point No. 2 is retraction. So I'm fortunate as a boarded surgeon, that usually I have all the bells and whistles. I got all the toys, I can have 3 assistants in there if I want to right to retract stuff and hold things. That's me. Most spays are done by general practitioners. They're not going to have the staffing for that, nor the toys. So you need to have not only a big incision, as seems realistic for that dog that size a dog but also need to retract either have somebody, or something, push those organs aside, you can actually visualize the ovaries in that gutter or self-retracting Balfour retractors. Great solution.

A Top 5 episode of dvm360's The Vet Blast Podcast is revealed in our 2024 countdown. 

Top 2024 dvm360 podcasts: #2

Canine osteoarthritis is a complex disease that impacts quality of life for many of our canine patients. Part 2 of this podcast series will highlight why effective management requires development of a baseline treatment plan that is customized to the individual patient and includes a plan for managing flare-ups. A systematic, evidence-based approach will be presented that can be implemented in general practice.



Recognize the importance of a customized treatment plan; that one-size does not fit all for canine osteoarthritis

Appreciate the ebb and flow of osteoarthritis with periods of calmness followed by periods of flare-ups

Appreciate the multimodal management of osteoarthritis 

David L. Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to explain treatment for osteoarthritis and the need for individualized patient plans.




Podcast CE: A Surgeon’s Perspective on Current Trends for the Management of Osteoarthritis, Part 2

When pets who need post visit care—such as bandage changing, movement exercises, etc.—leave the clinic, teams prepare clients with all they need to know for their pet. However, after sending them on their way with verbal or written instructions, how much are they retaining, or are those written instructions even making it out of the car? 

, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, Sarah Machell, BSc, DVM, Jill Clark, DVM, and Alex Ehrich, explain what PetPath is, and how it is helping providing 'white glove service' to clients and veterinary teams through a digital care companion. 

: This is not even a totally new, novel type of technology. What we've done is we've taken the learnings from the tools that exist in the human space that have been extremely successful. They're receiving FDA approval to be used with medical devices, and the outcomes are just so powerful that we're taking what is doing extremely well in the human space and bring it to vet med, where it's so necessary. Especially for you think of that client that comes in and they're stressed out, they're trying to figure out what's happening with their pet, and your team is doing all the things to make sure that they feel equipped and empowered for when they go home. But that the reality is, they're only going to absorb about 20% when they're in that state of stress. 

So we're just extending the care of that team into the home through what we would say is a digital care companion, essentially a teammate that is going to be in the palm of an owner's hands guiding them through what are these really stressful times that, again, is going to put people kind of their worst place. We want to help again just smooth that process out and make it that they have this incredible experience and feel this really white glove support from the vets and the care teams that are providing the care to their their loved ones.

Digital communication can improve patient outcomes, provide a great client experience, and streamline communication between clients and veterinary teams 

The newer normal of communicating with clients

, host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, welcomes back guest Michael Natale, LVT, to talk about his best practices for placing a catheter in your patients after a social post he shared on his social media account went viral on the topic. Within the episode, Natale shares his personal "dos and don'ts" to hopefully make this process easier for veterinary teams and patients. 

: So we have the restraint, and then talk to us about clipping.

See, you have to be very, very careful when you're clipping. I see a lot of people being really rough with the clippers on the skin, and we get a lot of razor burn that way, right? We don't want to mess up the skin any more than it already is, especially if there are older patients. So you want to be very gentle with that. You want to make sure that those clippers are also clean, because I've seen people leave some blood on there and that is not okay.

Let's talk about that. That is a great tip, by the way, because we're so busy, Mike, and I have seen this happen and what the heck, it just takes a few seconds to clean off those clippers. Talk about transferring bacteria or trying to create a sterile field! And having clippers like that, it's certainly not helping the situation right?

Yeah, no, for sure. I mean, I know at the end of my clipping I always cleaned them out with a brush, some gauze pads, and disinfectant.

Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, and Michael Natale, LVT, sit down to discuss various techniques and tips for catheter placement

Best practices for placing a catheter

Canine osteoarthritis is a complex disease that impacts quality of life for many of our canine patients. Part 1 of this podcast series will focus on the epidemiology of this disease, the importance of a proactive approach to diagnosis, and will introduce a standardized staging tool to be utilized in general practice.



Recognize that osteoarthritis affects the entire joint

Appreciate that canine osteoarthritis impacts many younger dogs and is not an “old-dog” disease

Understand the importance of a proactive approach utilizing the Canine OsteoArthritis Staging Tool

David L. Dycus, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS joins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss a proactive approach to the diagnosis of osteoarthritis and the best tools for general practice.


Podcast CE: A Surgeon’s Perspective on Current Trends for the Management of Osteoarthritis, Part 1

It is not often that a veterinary surgeon is performing spay and neuters on patients. It happens, but probably not as much as general practitioners, leaving a majority of the responsibility to them. However, when issues that could be life-threatening, such as pyometra, occur in patients, general practitioners may be looking for tips and tricks to help avoid pyometra. 

On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, Shadi Ireifej, DVM, DACVS, shares 5 tips that general practitioners can implement at their practice to help clinics possibly see fewer pyometra cases with our host Adam Christman, DVM, MBA. 

 One of the pearls I like to stress when I give pyometra talks is surgical exposure. It's all too often that very experienced, well-intentioned general practitioners will try to create as small an incision as possible for their spay. And it looks impressive, it's quicker surgery because less closing time, the pet owner loves the tiny incision which means [their pet] is not going to be in that much pain postoperatively, [and] less chance of complications. However, if you are trying to operate on a large breed dog or a deep-chested dog, and you're working in those caverns, you need to not be shy about making a larger incision in order to get access to the ovarian tissue and that uterus. You don't need to overdo it, you should be adequate. You can always make your incision longer if you need to start small and go longer, but that's point No. 1. 

Point No. 2 is retraction. So I'm fortunate as a boarded surgeon, that usually I have all the bells and whistles. I got all the toys, I can have 3 assistants in there if I want to right to retract stuff and hold things. That's  me. Most spays are done by general practitioners. They're not going to have the staffing for that, nor the toys. So you need to have not only a big incision, as seems realistic for that dog that size a dog but also need to retract either have somebody, or something, push those organs aside, you can actually visualize the ovaries in that gutter or self-retracting Balfour retractors. Great solution. 

Learn how to have precision without the fuss and pus from Shadi Ireifej, DVM, DACVS, on this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast 

5 hacks to the Pyometra

2. Not all spinal injuries require surgery

In second place, Ane Uriarte, DECVN, MRCVS, DVM, EBVS, RCVS, discussed how the speed of onset of symptoms can affect the urgency with which
a pet parent should seek care.

We have compiled a countdown of our top 5 podcast episodes in 2022, here is number 2

Top dvm360 podcasts of 2022: #2

5. Percutaneous laser disc ablation: a proactive approach to minimizing IVDD in dogs

Gaemia Tracy, DVM, DACVIM, (Neurology), joined The Vet Blast Podcast to
talk about intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in canine patients. He explained percutaneous laser disc ablation and more.

We have compiled a countdown of our top 5 podcast episodes in 2022, here is number 5

Top dvm360 podcasts of 2022: #5

Will the surgery on your calendar for tomorrow keep you up all night with fear and anxiety? If so, you are not alone. On this episode of The Vet Blast Podcast, June Long, DVM, rejoins Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, to discuss how to manage surgical anxiety while improving your mental well-being. 

Below is a partial transcript. Listen to the full podcast for more.

: In school, we're taught this is how you do it, and this is what happens, and then everything's fine. But we're never, at least this is just my experience, we weren't really challenged like, well, what if this happens, what are you going to do? Or, let's go through this case and see what went wrong. I don't ever remember, like, this is how you fix a dropped pedicle, you know, that we're not really exposed to that level. And I think that kind of is a level that you need to move into after graduation, I'm not saying that [its] something that needs to be taught in vet school. But new vets these days, that's kind of the level that they're at, as far as experience. 

June Long, DVM provides expert tips on mitigating surgical anxiety 



Surgery

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