The following morning, the dog catchers hit the town looking for strays and community dogs. They returned with several dogs and a litter of puppies. We were all devastated to hear that the puppies were to be euthanised and, despite wracking my brain for bright ideas to get them back to Perth, there was nothing I could do. Thankfully, word of the pups had spread and the police came by and gave one lucky puppy a second chance at life.
We divided into two groups and set to work on our surgery patients. Each dog was examined, pre-medicated, catheterised and induced. We used TIVA (total intravenous anaesthesia), meaning the dogs were kept asleep with frequent top-ups of propofol rather than inhalational anaesthesia. This ramps the stress level up a notch, but also trains the anaesthetist to become acutely aware of minor changes in heart rate, respiratory rate, jaw tone and eye position. The surgeons had problems of their own. The heat and humidity meant that surgical gloves pooled with sweat almost instantly and, when held up, sweat would drip down the arm and into the surgical site. Not so sterile! Our headlamps heated up quickly too, a feeling I can liken to someone burning a hole in your forehead and frying your brain.
The surgeries themselves went very smoothly. I regained my confidence after a few surgery-less months, and learnt some new tricks and techniques from the vets. There were a couple of early pregnant speys between us, and I had a confusing organ tangle as a result of a patent urachus (the foetal connection between the bladder and the umbilicus remained intact). The dogs wouldn’t be returning for suture removal so we had to do intradermal sutures. The vets taught us how to make our own swaged-on needles out of injection needles and suture material by threading the needle, crushing it with haemostats and bending the hub off. It was a challenge, but we eventually got the hang of it.
The vets were fantastic teachers and imparted so much surgical knowledge. They also gave us the freedom to develop our own techniques based on what we felt most comfortable doing, which allowed us to learn through trial and error. The vet nurse was hilarious and an absolute ninja. She darted about sterilising instruments, recovering dogs, preparing lunch and generally keeping order, while the rest of us plodded along with our surgeries.
By the end of the week I had another three speys and two castrations under my belt. There were a couple of quiet days towards the end of the week and we had the opportunity to explore the area. We visited Five Rivers Lookout, the Prison Tree (a hollow boab which used to temporarily house prisoners), the Grotto, and the spectacular Emma’s Gorge. On our final night, we enjoyed sunset drinks overlooking the Ord River and were rewarded with a couple of fresh water crocs! It was a great group of people and we shared a lot of laughs. As much as I enjoyed the trip, I was also relieved to be heading back to the cool crisp air of Perth.
When your one unscheduled week of the year comes around and you have 1001 things to do, the week’s agenda seems like a no brainer. For some reason though, I decided it would be a good idea to instead spend some extra time at the vet clinic I work at on weekends, just for fun and in the vague hope of getting some extra surgical experience. It was definitely worthwhile! On the first day I got to watch a cyst removal on an eyelid, a dog removal (the patient was more lipoma than dog!), and an exploratory surgery to find a 5mm metal filing in a rottweiler’s toe. My day was made when I got to scrub into the splenectomy and help ligate some of the vessels. The other day I went in, I thought Christmas had come early when I was given the opportunity to do a dog spey, dog castration and cat castration with almost no supervision. I can now die happy!
Just finished a brilliant week of prac at a shelter clinic, where I did a couple cat speys, amputated two digits on a dog to remove a mast cell tumour, listened to a grade 3 heart murmur on a cat, examined a friendly pig, played with a litter of puppies, used a woods lamp for the first time, and so much more! Now for a much needed 2 week break before I begin another week of placement and the final instalment of fourth year.
It’s been a week since Reuben’s rumenotomy and he’s recovering perfectly. His vitals are all within the normal range, he’s eating and defaecating, and the incision site is healing well. The sutures will come out within the next few days and then he’ll be back to roaming the farm.
This week, as a component of our production animal unit, each surgery group performed a rumenotomy on a sheep! I was able to practice a paralumbar nerve block for the first time, which was daunting but worked well. The surgery itself was a success and a great learning experience. Our sheep, who we named Reuben, is so far recovering well with his friends. Over the next couple of weeks, it’s our responsibility to monitor Reuben’s progress, administer medications and ensure he returns to perfect health. Yes, that does mean spending Friday night and Sunday morning at uni!
It’s official, I’m famous! The article I wrote about volunteering in Thailand has been published in this month’s issue of the Australian Veterinary Journal! 🎉
