Inhalation anesthesia with isoflurane in a black jaguar (Panthera onca) for surgical repair of a fractured mandible

A black jaguar (Panthera onca) was anesthetized with a combination of medetomidine, ketamine and isoflurane in oxygen for radiological examination and surgical repair of a fractured mandible. Since a non-domesticated cat is potentially dangerous, induction of anesthesia was performed by intramuscular injection using a mechanical squeeze cage. The cardiopulmonary parameters during anesthesia remained within normal ranges; only a small increase in the respiration rate was recorded 75 minutes after intubation. This hyperventilation was treated with buprenorphine (for additional analgesia) and an increased inspiratory fraction of isoflurane. Recovery was rather slow after 165 minutes of general anesthesia, so atipamezole was administered. Ten minutes after the intramuscular injection of atipamezole, the animal started to recover. Meloxicam and buprenorphine were used for post-operative analgesia

Medial compartment disease in a young Large Munsterlander

Medial compartment disease (MCD) is a recently recognized elbow disorder in dogs and refers to extensive cartilage erosions of the medial compartment of the elbow joint. This report describes a case of MCD in a 10-month-old Large Munsterlander that was presented with right frontleg lameness. Based on signalement, history and radiographic examination, there was a strong suspicion of a fragmented coronoid process (FCP) of the right elbow. However, arthroscopic examination revealed extensive cartilage erosions of the medial part of the humeral condyle and the medial coronoid process in addition to a small coronoid fragment (FCP) and a small OCD-like lesion. After the arthroscopic treatment, the dog did not improve. Neither did additional treatment with autologous conditioned plasma (Arthrex ACP (R)) lead to a substantial improvement. Finally, the dog was euthanized because of persistent lameness

Brain perfusion, part 2: anesthesia and brain perfusion in small animals

Sedatives and anesthetics can influence cerebral metabolism and respiratory and cardiovascular dynamics, which results in changes in cerebral perfusion. This is of major importance when functional brain imaging techniques are used to measure cerebral blood flow or to evaluate neurotransmitter systems, and also during neurosurgery. In the present review, the influences on brain perfusion of different sedatives including opioids and anesthetics commonly used in veterinary medicine are summarized

Chirurgische behandeling van het discusgeassocieerd Wobblersyndroom door middel van een standaard ventraalslottechniek: een retrospectieve studie van 12 gevallen

There is much controversy about the treatment of disc associated wobbler syndrome. This retrospective study describes the clinical evolution of 12 dogs treated surgically by a standard ventral slot technique. The duration of follow-up ranged from 1 to 59 months. Nine of the 12 dogs clinically recovered. However, 6 of these 9 dogs developed a second episode of clinical signs. Two of these dogs could be further managed by conservative treatment. The 4 other dogs were euthanized. The results of this study are compared to the literature. Special attention is given to inclusion criteria and follow-up data

De behandeling van een omvangrijke ribtumor bij een hond

A 12-year-old English Cocker spaniel was referred because of front leg lameness due to a mass on the right cranioventral thoracic wall. Radiographic examination showed that the limited external mass had a large intrathoracic component. The patient was staged, and based on the results of computed tomography, surgery was planned and the tumor was removed en bloc. An osteosarcoma with metastasis in the regional lymph nodes was diagnosed on histopathology. Consequently, chemotherapy was instituted. The disease-free period lasted four months, after which respiratory discomfort developed due to pulmonary metastases. The dog was euthanized five months after surgery. This case illustrates that a sufficiently aggressive, multimodal treatment may prolong life expectancy in case of an advanced, malignant tumor

Lymphocyte proliferation to collagen type I in dogs

The objective of this study was to investigate if cellular reactivity to collagen type I exists in dogs with unilateral cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL) rupture and if it relates to disease progression. The patient group consisted of 10 dogs with unilateral CrCL rupture. The control dogs consisted of three healthy control dogs, and two healthy dogs with unilateral sham operations of the stifle joint. All dogs were assayed repeatedly every 6 months for 12-24 months. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from whole blood and were cultured with human collagen type I at concentrations of 5, 20 and 40 mu g/ml for 6 and 7 days. Lymphocyte reactivity to collagen type I occurred not only in dogs with CrCL rupture, but also in sham-operated dogs and healthy dogs. Five of the eight assays (63%) performed at the time of operation or at the time of diagnosis of CrCL rupture had a stimulation index (SI) >= 3.0. This was not significantly different compared to healthy control dogs, not to the sham-operated control dogs. The CrCL rupture was assessed intra operatively in six cases. Three cases had partial rupture and three had complete rupture. Only one dog with partial rupture, and two dogs with complete rupture had a positive SL An increase in proliferation to collagen type I was seen in dogs with CrCL rupture, whereas it either remained stable or decreased in the control dogs. No distinct pattern in lymphocyte reactivity to collagen type I could be established from the dogs that sustained a CrCL rupture in the contralateral stifle joint, although most dogs that did not sustain a CrCL rupture in the contralateral stifle joint remained negative during this study with exception of one dog. Further research is required to determine whether cellular reactivity to collagen type I may play an initiating role in cruciate degradation