Search Results for “surgery”

Injuries in children due to metal landscape edging (metal strips half-buried in the ground to edge lawns) have been previously documented. A 2001 study showed that over a two-year period, 126 children were admitted to the Children’s Hospital in Denver for lacerations caused by metal lawn edging, mostly to the feet and knees. But what about the risk to pets? The danger of metal landscape edging to animals has not been documented until now. A new study shows that the sharp-edged landscaping tool also poses a risk of injury to dogs. Amanda Duffy, DVM, DACVECC, led the study while at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH). Her team looked at the frequency and severity of limb injuries in dogs resulting from contact with metal edging. Over a 10 year period, the VTH admitted 60 dogs that fit the conditions for the study. These 60 dogs accounted for nearly one-third of all paw injuries at the VTH’s emergency service, according to the study.

These four credentialed veterinary technicians are at the top of their game—and one of them is AAHA’s 2023 Veterinary Technician of the Year!

New research could change the way post-operative analgesia is administered in dogs, enabling patients to go home sooner and spend less time in the hospital. A study led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine looked at the effectiveness of injecting dogs with extended-release opioids to provide long-term pain relief. The group of scientists, headed by UW veterinary anesthesiologist Lesley Smith, DVM, DACVA, used liposome-encapsulated hydromorphone made with dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine and cholesterol (DPPC-C hydromorphone) for the study. Different concentrations of the formulation, created at the university, were subcutaneously injected into healthy beagles. The concentration of hydromorphone in the dog’s blood serum was then measured at various intervals to determine whether the drug was working. “We extrapolated that certain serum levels (as shown in human studies) are correlated with surgical analgesia,” Smith said.

Despite tramadol’s popularity as an oral analgesic in veterinary medicine, experts have debated it’s efficacy for years. And a new study has added fuel to the fire. Researchers at the University of Georgia found that tramadol was ineffective in relieving pain associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. The researchers compared the use of tramadol with both placebo and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in 35 dogs with osteoarthritis of the elbow or knee in a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled crossover study.

Watching a dog complete the seemingly rapid transition from puppy with boundless energy to adult hobbled by arthritis is a tough experience, just as it is when the dog’s owner experiences the gradual onset of knee pain and one day thinks, “Guess I can’t do the things I used to do when I was younger.” The desire to spare both pets and owners from gradual decline due to osteoarthritis led James Cook, DVM, PhD, to start the Comparative Orthopaedic Lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia. The lab emphasizes the crossover between human and veterinary medicine, working to find orthopedic solutions that help people and animals. One of the most talked-about research projects in progress at the lab is joint replacement using living tissue instead of metal and plastic. Cook says the lab’s research could pave the way for durable, all-natural implants that turn back the clock on the body’s joints.

Researchers at a Canadian university used 3D printing technology to replace the majority of a dog’s cancer-ridden skull. The patient, a nine-year-old dachshund named Patches, had a tumor that had grown so large it was weighing down her head, growing into her skull, and pushing dangerously close to her brain and eye socket. The procedure is thought to be the first of its kind in North America.

This week: A new study seeks opioid options for postsurgical pain, Metallica may have saved a hiker’s life, and a new report aims to reduce the number of dogs shot by police.

Feline hyperthyroidism has become a growing cause for concern and research in the veterinary field. A study published in the February 2017 issue of Environmental Science and Technology found that use of chemical retardants in household objects showed up in dust around the home, meaning cats face a significant exposure to the chemicals.

Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association free article: Gorilla Glue contains expanding adhesives and has been documented to cause clinical signs after ingestion in the dog. The aim of this retrospective case series is to document the signalment, presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of dogs with Gorilla Glue ingestion presented to several referral hospitals.

Veterinary practices have been busier in the past couple of weeks than many in the profession had predicted. So NEWStat took an informal sampling of AAHA-accredited practices to see what their caseloads look like at this point in the pandemic.