Category Archives: Surgery

The month of March has two holidays for math lovers. Many readers may already know about Pi Day, or 3/14, which celebrates the first three digits of the mathematical constant Pi. Those of us that love animals may be more familiar with Triday, 3/3, a day dedicated to the resilient pets that have undergone a limb amputation and thrived as “tripawds.” Limb amputations in pets are performed to correct injuries and treat bone infections and cancer. In today’s blogpost, I’ll discuss the medical situations that may necessitate amputation and some of the emotional considerations of this surgery.

July 12th marks Julius Caesar’s 2124th birthday. Medically, this date is important because a common surgery, the Caesarean section, is named in Mr. Caesar’s honor, even though there’s no proof he was delivered through this surgery. Often referred to as a C-section, this surgery is performed when offspring are delivered through an abdominal incision rather than through the birth canal. The word “offspring” is a calculated decision on my part. C-sections are common in human medicine, but veterinarians will also deliver puppies, kittens, calves, lambs and the occasional bird or turtle via a C-section. C-section surgery is as important to animal health as it is to human health.

A couple of weeks ago I attended a lecture by my colleague Dr. Rob Hart, Director of Orthopedic and Joint Replacement Surgery at AMC. Not surprisingly, he spoke about hip replacement surgery. Being a medical type and not surgical at all, I found his presentation fascinating. Going into the talk, I had thought total hip replacement was primarily a treatment for hip dysplasia, but I learned there are more reasons for a total hip replacement and thought my readers would find these bits of information interesting as well.

Most people don’t realize it, but internal organs are not fixed in place and do have the ability to move around inside the body. When the movement of an internal organ involves a twist, the patient becomes critically ill because the twist cuts off blood supply to that organ. Internal organs can twist either on their long axis (torsion) or along their short axis (volvulus). The most common disorder caused by a twisted organ is bloat, or gastric dilation and volvulus. However, the veterinarians at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center diagnose and treat a variety of twisted organs in dogs, cats and rabbits. I’ll discuss further in today’s blogpost.

With great fanfare, the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center held a “leash cutting” ceremony to mark the grand opening of the Denise and Michael Kellen Institute for Surgical Care. The press release describes 7,000 square feet of newly constructed surgery space with five operating rooms, a minor procedure room, and an anesthesia recovery area that separates feline patients from canine patients. The photos show a gathering of happy veterinary surgeons alongside grateful patients and hospital supporters. But what does the 7,000-square-foot addition mean for your pet?