I am now
officially half way through my Equine Summer Fellowship, and this week was
still filled with plenty of new experiences. As the doctors here have become
more comfortable with me, they have begun teaching me more hands-on skills. I
now place IV catheters as needed when horses come into the clinic and require
fluids or IV medications. I also
performed my very first palmar digital nerve block and successfully blocked the
foot on the first attempt (much of the credit for that goes to Dr. Sonea and
Dr. MohanKumar for teaching us different never blocks on cadaver legs in
anatomy lab.) During the numerous joint flushes on the two foals last week, Dr.
Brown began having me participate more and more. For the most recent flush, I
did everything myself under the guidance of Dr. Brown. To say the least, it has
been the highlight of many highlights so far this summer. Dr. Brown has also given me a couple of
opportunities to suture skin incisions at the end of minor surgeries. I really
hope I get a few more chances to improve my simple continuous pattern and
surgeon’s knot.
There were several procedures this week that were also new for me. The first case was a horse with a locked stifle. Due to the reciprocal apparatus in the hind limb, he could not flex his stifle or his hock, resulting in walking on his fetlock. His stifle was successfully unlocked after a medial patellar ligament split procedure. Dr. Brown essentially poked holes in the ligament with a scalpel to create inflammation around the patella and loosen it from the locked position. For another horse with chronic sinus issues, he placed a port into the frontal sinus by drilling through the skull. Through the port, the owner will now be able to lavage the sinus at home. We fondly called the lavage the “netti pot procedure.” Lastly, a horse came in with suspected botulism. Although botulism is not common in Michigan, Brown Equine Hospital has dealt with over half a dozen cases in the last year. When it presented, the horse was unable to swallow, so we treated him with antitoxin, IV fluids, and potassium penicillin. Unfortunately, he went into flaccid paralysis and had to be put down.
There were several procedures this week that were also new for me. The first case was a horse with a locked stifle. Due to the reciprocal apparatus in the hind limb, he could not flex his stifle or his hock, resulting in walking on his fetlock. His stifle was successfully unlocked after a medial patellar ligament split procedure. Dr. Brown essentially poked holes in the ligament with a scalpel to create inflammation around the patella and loosen it from the locked position. For another horse with chronic sinus issues, he placed a port into the frontal sinus by drilling through the skull. Through the port, the owner will now be able to lavage the sinus at home. We fondly called the lavage the “netti pot procedure.” Lastly, a horse came in with suspected botulism. Although botulism is not common in Michigan, Brown Equine Hospital has dealt with over half a dozen cases in the last year. When it presented, the horse was unable to swallow, so we treated him with antitoxin, IV fluids, and potassium penicillin. Unfortunately, he went into flaccid paralysis and had to be put down.
There were
several new experiences outside of work as well. I was finally able to get out
to the Laurel Hill State Park and do some hiking. I still cannot get over how
beautiful this area is. I also took a trip out the Memorial of Flight 93, which
crashed less than 30 miles from here on September 11th. The memorial
upholds the memories of the passengers and crew with a simple and beautiful
dignity. I have included several pictures below.
Laurel Hill State Park
Cool Step-Stone Dam
The Flight 93 Memorial
No comments:
Post a Comment