August 1, 2008
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In order to prevent Maggie--a large-breed dog, from licking the wounded area, her owners reversed the Elizabethan collar.

August 1, 2008 By:
Chick Weisse, VMD, Dipl. ACVS
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Editor's note: SurgerySTAT is a collaborative column between the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) and DVM Newsmagazine. In September, Shawn Mattson, DVM, DVSc, BSc will discuss "Treating Subchondral Bone Cysts in the Fetlock Joint." Dr. Mattson is an ACVS board-certified surgeon who practices at Moore and Company Veterinary Services, a full-service equine hospital in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dr. Mattson, previously at the Ontario Veterinary College in Guelph, Ontario, has published scientific articles in the American Journal of Veterinary Research and Veterinary Surgery related to research on orthopedic infections in horses.

July 1, 2008 By:
Robert M. Stein, DVM, Dipl. AAPM, Stephanie Ortel, BS, LVT, CCRP
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While this review will focus on postoperative pain management, it is important that we acknowledge the critical perioperative elements that lay the foundation for ideal patient pain management. Pain control needs to be in place before the surgeon's blade contacts skin in order to minimize central and peripheral sensitization. Without adequate pre-emptive analgesia, the nociceptive process ramps up unabated by general anesthesia. Receptor sensitivity increases and structural rewiring can occur.

July 1, 2008 By:
Robert J. Hardie, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, Dipl. ECVS
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Ligating the ovarian pedicles during an ovariohysterectomy in a large or obese dog can be a challenging task, especially if the ovarian pedicles are thick or surrounded by excessive adipose tissue that is not easily incorporated into simple encircling ligatures.

June 1, 2008
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To keep the surgical area free of hair when castrating cats, I cut a small diamond-shaped hole in the middle of a green rubber dental dam and place the dam over the surgically prepared testicles.

June 1, 2008 By:
Sarah Boston, DVM, DVSc, Dipl. ACVS
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Amputation is a painful procedure, so aggressive, multimodal analgesia is necessary. The patient should receive a premedication that includes a pure mu agonist opioid such as morphine, fentanyl, oxymorphone or hydromorphone.

June 1, 2008 By:
Steven F. Swaim, DVM, MS
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Three beneficial reconstructive surgery techniques--the adjustable horizontal mattress suture, the mesh skin graft, and punch grafts in pockets--are underused by practitioners. These techniques require no special equipment and are easily accomplished.

May 7, 2008 By:
Phil Seibert, CVT
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Should our pregnant associate use a respirator during surgeries to avoid inhaling anesthetic gases?

May 1, 2008 By:
Ed Kane, PhD
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While interest and controversy swirl around stem-cell use for treating human spinal-chord injuries and diseases ranging from diabetes to Parkinson's, veterinary medicine has been investigating stem-cell use for a variety of animal conditions and diseases.
