Vet Times

Tag: surgical

  • When is a lipoma not a lipoma?

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    We recently had a case where a freely mobile, soft mass on the ventral abdomen, which had been present for a number of years, had started to get larger. We carried out a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy, and I fully expected this to confirm the presence of a lipoma (a benign fatty tumour common in dogs).…

  • It takes two to tango

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    Before the full force of third year hit, the first week back at vet school started with everyone catching up on tales from their summer holidays. Before long, it was like we’d never left and the four months of freedom seemed to fade into a distant memory. However, one particular topic of holiday gossip that…

  • Clinical EMS 101

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    At vet school, you learn some basic clinical skills and are taught how to conduct a general clinical examination to prepare you for EMS placements in veterinary surgeries. What they don’t prepare you for is making a complete idiot out of yourself. Before my first clinical placement I told the vets I would be working…

  • How far is too far?

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    In my interview for Glasgow vet school, I was asked the question “how far is too far?”, and recent episodes of The Supervet on TV had me musing on the topic again, particularly as I had used The Bionic Vet as an example in my answer. At the time I discussed kidney transplants in cats…

  • Should I be a vegetarian?

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    Vegetarianism can be quite the controversial topic, with many people choosing not to eat meat or particular types of meat for varying reasons – be that moral, financial or simply down to taste and preference. But how should I stand on the matter, from the point of view of a vet student? While on EMS,…

  • It takes balls to neuter

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    As graduates, one of the most routine surgeries that we will be expected to be competent at is neutering. As students, when on work experience or EMS, we will have seen at least one of these procedures a day at small or mixed practices… often more. But routine does not necessarily mean easy, simple or…

  • Role play… at vet school?

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    A role play class with professional actors brought in to help out would be commonplace on a course such as drama, and may sound a little odd for veterinary medicine. But is it really? Communication is a vital part of being a vet and can often be the “make or break” factor for client satisfaction.…

  • Use of hydrogen peroxide to flush abscesses

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    Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is such a strong oxidiser it is highly reactive. Due to its weak disinfectant and antiseptic properties, hydrogen peroxide as a 3% solution was often used to treat cat fight abscesses. However, it has fallen out of favour because it is thought to slow healing by affecting tissue growth through several possible…

  • FMD and confidence

    FMD and confidence

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    I have been qualified for 16 years now, and all bar five months of that has been spent in small animal practice. Back in my day, Glasgow was one of the few vet schools to give its students hands-on surgical experience on real live patients. We all left with a checklist of things we had…