Farm Practice Memoirs

This week I've done a bit of mixed practice and saw some interesting things. The first thing to note before I forget, is the talk I had on synoquin EFA. Interesting talk about the building blocks  of chondroitin sulphate and glucosamine, the different types there are out there, what is best and the addition of dexahan which is krill oil into the product. The krill oil has better anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties than before (apparently), and this joint supplement sounds like something to try in osteoarthritis management. Problem is the cost. For large breed dogs you're looking about £80 for 120 tablets, and with the 'overload' initial phase to get the drug working into the body for around 40 days, the price is a bit high for the average dog owner I think! Sounds interesting as a supplement though but to get a better idea I'd really have to see the effects in practice, and the clinical trial evidence. They come in a sprinkle capsule (handy for cats) or chewy palatable tablets (the small breed dog chewy can also be given to cats which are amiable to tablets, but the tablets are quite big so the cat really has to chew it rather than it being shoved down). :). 

I saw a range of things, the most notable being a stitch up we did one evening (didn't get back until 10pm which is late for me!), on a pony which had a massive open wound down the rump area which had been opened again by rolling. A few mattress sutures, a lot of flushing, some wound debriding (getting rid of the granulation tissue) and some hibiscrub cleaning and sedation later, the wound looked a lot better. The sutures used were a mixture of nylon and vicryl, with tension being the reason they had been pulled out- the nylon was a bit weaker in this instance. They also used a pink ointment at the end to pack in the wound which I can't remember the name of, but it had some sort of additive to keep flies away- maybe chamomile (if anyone has any ideas please leave a comment with the answer)!

Mattress sutures were a newer thing I encountered in this practice. They are mainly used for x-laps, bitch speys or surgery where things need to be held together a bit tighter. They are apparently a bit more secure than cruciate stitches I described before, so here's another one to add to my list of things to learn! 

I also encountered a mare with lameness- she had a foot abscess which is one of the top diagnoses where the horse is really lame (alongside fractures). They normally burst out on their own with the aid of a poultice and antibiotics. She also seemed to have some laminitis with her stance and so she was also given bute for the pain relief, and told to have reduced food and soaked hay etc just in case for the time being. 

Today I encountered a puppy farm- although the dogs were all healthy which was a bonus (they had about 50 dogs though!), and three cows- one which was lame on one side which was given some antibiotics, one which had an LDA (a toggle was done to see if this would change things, to be monitored for a day), and a cow which was down after a calving with presumed nerve/muscle/pain damage in the hindquarter/pelvic region- she was given some antibiotics and told to be lifted onto her feet with a tractor to promote better healing of the nerve. We also had a dog which had passed away due to suspect parvo in the area, and a dog which had to have a wound debraded and cleaned, and tetanus antitoxin after cutting the leg to the tendon on some rusty barbed wire!

Other interesting things I saw were a possible splenectomy on a weimaraner that presented with vomiting and quite a bit of weight loss and a poor condition score. The tumour was really big on ex-lap exploration unfortunately- so it was a kinder decision for the dog to be euthanised as it had metastasied to the stomach wall. The tumour was a multilobulated 20cm large mass, about the size of a mini-rugby ball! I think I'm going to do this as my case report for university. 

I got to administer some routine vaccinations (one which leaked out the other side whoops, but practice makes perfect and it won't happen again!), and got to do two of my own consultations today which was pretty brill (although I forgot basic things for vaccs- such as diahorrea, vomiting, and general concerns, I was too busy trying to do a clinical exam :(, too many things happening at once). Grateful to the vets who let me assist in these! 

We had a dog with possible rat poisoning- where the treatment is activated charcoal for the stomach after making the dog sick, and dependent on a few factors e.g. time length, possibility of poisoning this may be followed by aggressive vitamin K1 therapy. 

Also found out my boyfriend passed his resits- YAY. Not that I've had a chance to talk to him about those today.. but hey, what are boys like.... 

SO interesting times, and I move back to Liverpool on sunday. I need to pack tomorrow, and for definate I have too much stuff! 

Adios for now :)