The story of my relationship with Clinton Vet goes all the way back to 2013, when I was a wee little undergraduate. I was a working student at MSU Horse Teaching and Research Center when I met Dr. Cynthia Trombley. While assisting with reproductive work on the mares I asked if her clinic accepted students for shadowing. She enthusiastically said yes and, as they say, the rest is history. I rode along with the practice at least once a week for almost two summers straight. Along the way I had the joy of getting to know all of their nine vets (including some who have since retired or moved on to different adventures), fantastic office staff, and dedicated clients. When I transitioned into veterinary school the folks at Clinton were instrumental in my acceptance, championing me throughout the application process and calming my nerves as I eagerly awaited my acceptance. Since beginning school I have been able to come back and visit my friends at Clinton Vet whenever I need a reminder as to why I began this crazy journey. So, I was thrilled when I was given the opportunity to join them for a month this summer. I will be traveling mainly with Dr. Cynthia, doing equine work, and will ride along with some of the other practitioners when they need an extra set of hands on calls.
The beginning of my internship was spread over two partial weeks due to my prior commitments with my Master's program. That did not mean that they were lacking in fantastic learning experiences. Our week began at a familiar place, MSU Horse Teaching and Research Center, where we checked mares for pregnancy and readiness for breeding. We had a few other breeding stops that week as well as a lameness exam and many vaccine and float calls. At the end of the week Dr. Trombley surprised me and asked if I would want to do our castration that we had scheduled. I anxiously replied yes! I had never performed a castration by myself but I felt confident that Dr. Cynthia wouldn't let me mess up. Thankfully, our patient was a perfect gentleman and the procedure went off without a hitch. I couldn't believe that I had performed my first procedure, or that it was just the end of my first few days with Clinton.
Besides our routine calls and fun hands-on procedures, the clinic had an enucleation scheduled for later in the week. The older gelding was originally seen by Dr. Kristin Trierweiler a few weeks prior for vaccination and teeth floating. While there she and the owner discussed options for the gelding's persistently swollen and draining eye. What had started as a mild irritation about 6 weeks prior, continued to worsen until the eye remained closed almost constantly. After examining the eye they determined that removal was the best option for the comfort and welfare of the horse. So, the surgery was scheduled and the gelding was brought to the clinic. As he was an older patient Dr. Kristin decided to do the procedure standing, instead of recumbent (as is most common), due to concerns about his ability to rise after anesthesia. Once he was sedated and the nerves tracking to his eye were blocked we got our first unhindered look at the eye. It was immediately clear that this was the best call. In the two weeks since she had last seen it a draining tract had opened up from the center of the globe. With the severity, this would have been hard pressed to heal on its own, or with aggressive therapy. The removal itself went extremely well once we ensured that the horse was quiet and comfortable. As I was delayed in writing this case up, I have photos of the case before removal, immediately after, and once stitches were removed 14 days later. The gelding is home and happy without his infected eye. After examining the eye Dr. Kristin thinks that the infection started as a bad ulcer, and progressed to infection throughout all of the eye chambers. Thankfully, he can now be more comfortable since it has been removed. My first week with Clinton Vet has been an exciting one. I can't wait to see what else we have in store!
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