The Medical Thread

AKA_Monet · #1 07-31-2008, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I wanted to post this. Tomorrow will be my 1st surgery I'll be assisting in. I was supposed to do my 1st teeth cleaning a few weeks ago, but that fell through, because the cat had severe dental disease. We had to send her to a dental specialist.

This one is a go though. This time it isn't a cat. It's a dog (a Labrador Retriever). We're going to be treating her for hip dysplasia. I'm really excited! This will be great experience for me too.

Good luck!!! What time is your procedure? How much are you going to help? Will you be making the incision or closing up? I know you will do well!

AKA_Monet · #2 07-31-2008, 02:30 AM

Okey, I just learned how to bleed 50 ul in a hematocrit tube from the saphenous vein of a live awake mouse... The trick for me was to gently grip the mouse like a "snake hold" so that they merely accept their fate and proceed to get to the saphenous.

Interesting procedure... Now to do live retro-orbital bleeding...

cheerfulgreek · #3 08-01-2008, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Okey, I just learned how to bleed 50 ul in a hematocrit tube from the saphenous vein of a live awake mouse... The trick for me was to gently grip the mouse like a "snake hold" so that they merely accept their fate and proceed to get to the saphenous.

Interesting procedure... Now to do live retro-orbital bleeding...

o.k. details, details please...

This sounds really interesting.

kstar · #4 08-01-2008, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Okey, I just learned how to bleed 50 ul in a hematocrit tube from the saphenous vein of a live awake mouse... The trick for me was to gently grip the mouse like a "snake hold" so that they merely accept their fate and proceed to get to the saphenous.

Interesting procedure... Now to do live retro-orbital bleeding...

Wow, we always do eye or caudal veins in rodents. Unless we are doing a cardiac stick.

I don't think I'd ever be able to find the saphenous in a rodent.

cheerfulgreek · #5 08-11-2008, 02:30 AM

I decided. I'm still going to talk to my boss tomorrow, and also some of my professors at school in a couple of weeks, but I've decided to go into cardiology. It was either that, general health care, or orthopedic surgery.

AKA_Monet · #6 08-11-2008, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

o.k. details, details please...

This sounds really interesting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kstar

Wow, we always do eye or caudal veins in rodents. Unless we are doing a cardiac stick.

I don't think I'd ever be able to find the saphenous in a rodent.

The one thing that you all will learn as vets, ESPECIALLY if you go into lab animal med, is the dun dun daaaa IACUC out of OLAW. And you all get the dubious duty to write the protocols and procedures. So as we have it, we cannot do repeat eye bleeds than once per week and no more than 1/10th of the body weight of the mouse... So since I started working in a hematology lab that studies blood disorders and we have GM mice that have hemaglobinopathies, and need repeated bleedings per week, we are allowed saphenous vein. We only collect 50 ul in heparin coated hematocrit tubes.

If you can do the caudels, you can do the saphenous, they surround the "thigh" part from the hind legs and you use eye ointment to find them. Once you see them, use a 16 gauge needle to stick and once the blood pumps out, you just collect.

Apparently it is enough for the the HemoVet for the "mouse" setting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheerfulgreek

I decided. I'm still going to talk to my boss tomorrow, and also some of my professors at school in a couple of weeks, but I've decided to go into cardiology. It was either that, general health care, or orthopedic surgery.

That would be a WONDERFUL selection!!!

That's my area of expertise. But, I ONLY know the research end of it and not the clinical diagnosis end. It would be VERY nice to work out the imaging technology on the hearts of all animals and the genetic differences between the animals--especially the developmental or the stem regeneration of them... It is not "translatable" as one thinks it is from the research to human clinical trials...

cheerfulgreek · #7 08-13-2008, 04:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

That would be a WONDERFUL selection!!!

That's my area of expertise. But, I ONLY know the research end of it and not the clinical diagnosis end. It would be VERY nice to work out the imaging technology on the hearts of all animals and the genetic differences between the animals--especially the developmental or the stem regeneration of them... It is not "translatable" as one thinks it is from the research to human clinical trials...

Yep. Thanks AKA_Monet. I talked to my boss yesterday morning. He was gone all day Monday for surgeries. I asked the general vet who was there though, and she thought it was a good specialty to go into. When I did talk to him, he thought it was a good choice too. When I first started there I told him that I wanted to eventually have my own practice. He said that about 10% of domestic animals have some kind of heart disease, so it would be good for me.

I didn't know you were an expert in that area. Wow! Small world huh?

Well, I know who I can come to for questions when I'm stumped at 3am.

Yep. It's very different. Well, they don't have atherosclerosis and the type of heart attacks that afflict people. In animals the problem is usually a weak heart muscle, with enlargement of one or both sides of the heart. Sometimes there's inadequate heart valve action or a rhythm that's too quick or to slow. Like in humans, cholesterol is really not a factor.

At work we generally look to see if there's a bluish discoloration of the tongue and gums during or after exercise. Sometimes there may be heavy breathing, wheezing, those sort of things which are signs of heart problems.

cheerfulgreek · #8 08-13-2008, 04:22 AM

On another note, a lot of people don't want to talk to me. A lady called yesterday and she was freaking out. After her cat gave birth to kittens she freaked because her cat was eating the placenta. I tried to explain to her that it was normal and why she was eating it. She didn't want to speak to me because "I'm not a vet." She demanded that I put a vet on the phone.

Some people.

cheerfulgreek · #9 08-01-2008, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKA_Monet

Good luck!!! What time is your procedure? How much are you going to help? Will you be making the incision or closing up? I know you will do well!

We started at 10:15am. Actually, I did more than I thought I was going to do.

Actually, hip dysplasia can also be hereditary which was the case with this puppy. She's a little over 5 months old and she only had a moderate case of it. We used a procedure called JPS. (Juvenile pubic symphysiodesis) I made the incision with supervision of course, but the Dr. did the rest. I did help through the surgery though. Basically, how it works is we make the incision in the lower abdomen, and the pubic bone is cauterized using a surgical cautery probe. This actually stops the pubic bone from growing, and as the rest of the pelvis continues to grow, the hip sockets kinda end up rotating slightly outward and downward. So basically, when it's all said and done, the repositioned hip sockets hold the head of the femur more firmly, which pretty much eliminates the problem. In some cases it just reduces it though.

I lucked up, because if it would have been a Triple pelvic osteotomy, then I don't think he would have let me get as involved. TPOs are really expensive too. Yikes!

For the most part though, it went well. I learned a lot. 3 more weeks before I start my 2nd year.

ETA: When school starts I'll go back to working part time again, but I think I'm going to volunteer at one of the animal shelters, if I have time.