Simulating Ovariohysterectomy: What Type of Practice Promotes Short- and Long-Term Skills Retention?

Simulation-based surgical training allows students to learn skills through deliberate practice without the patient risk and stress of operating on a live animal. This study sought to determine the ideal distribution of training sessions to improve short- and long-term retention of the skills necessary to perform a simulated ovariohysterectomy (OVH). Fourth-semester students ( = 102) were enrolled.

Retention of basic surgical skills in veterinary students.

Objective: To quantify veterinary students' retention of surgical skills after a 5-month period without practice.

Study Design: Prospective longitudinal descriptive study.

Sample Population: Convenience sample of second year veterinary students (n = 57).

Stiffness of a type II external skeletal fixator and locking compression plate in a fracture gap model.

Objective: To compare the stiffness of constructs fixed with a type II external skeletal fixator (ESF) or a 3.5-mm locking compression plate (LCP) in axial compression and bending with a fracture gap model.

Study Design: Quasi-static four-point bending and axial compression tests.

Long-term Formation of Aggressive Bony Lesions in Dogs with Mid-Diaphyseal Fractures Stabilized with Metallic Plates: Incidence in a Tertiary Referral Hospital Population.

The incidence of complications secondary to fracture stabilization, particularly osteolytic lesions and bony tumor formation, has long been difficult to evaluate. The objective of this study was to describe the long-term incidence of aggressive bony changes developing in dogs with long bone diaphyseal fractures stabilized by metallic bone plates compared to a breed-, sex-, and age-matched control group. The medical records of a tertiary referral center were retrospectively reviewed for dogs that matched each respective criterion.

Meniscal injury in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture.

Meniscal damage is common in dogs with naturally occurring rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CrCL). Appropriate diagnosis and treatment of meniscal injuries is critical to avoid chronic lameness in these patients. Given the frequency, expense, and clinical importance of meniscal injuries, a thorough understanding of the meniscus is important for general practitioners and veterinary surgeons alike.

Surgical stabilization of an occipitoatlantoaxial malformation in an adult dog.

Objective: To report surgical planning, technique, and outcome of stabilization surgery in an adult dog with occipitoatlantoaxial malformation (OAAM).

Study Design: Clinical report.

Animal: A 19-month-old, 25.

Incidence of and risk factors for postoperative pneumonia in dogs anesthetized for diagnosis or treatment of intervertebral disk disease.

Objective: To determine incidence of and risk factors for postoperative pneumonia in dogs anesthetized for diagnosis or treatment of intervertebral disk disease (IVDD).

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Animals: 707 dogs that underwent general anesthesia for the diagnosis or treatment of IVDD between 1992 and 1996 or between 2002 and 2006.

External fixator clamp reuse degrades clamp mechanical performance.

Objective: To determine the effects of clamp reuse for the Kirschner-Ehmer (KE); Securos; and the IMEX-SK clamp.

Study Design: Experimental bench test of mechanical properties.

Methods: Specially designed fixtures were used to mechanically test 18 clamps of each type with respect to 6 mechanical variables: fixator pin slippage, connecting bar slippage, fixator pin rotation, connecting bar rotation, and clockwise and counterclockwise clamp-bolt axis pivot.

OP-1 augments glucocorticoid-inhibited fracture healing in a rat fracture model.

Glucocorticoids inhibit bone remodeling and fracture healing. We sought to determine whether osteogenic protein 1 (OP-1) can overcome this inhibition in a closed fracture model in the rat. Time-released prednisolone or placebo pellets were implanted subcutaneously; closed femoral fractures were created 2 weeks later in rats.

Mandibular reconstruction after gunshot trauma in a dog by use of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2.

Case Description: A 6-year-old German Shorthaired Pointer was evaluated for possible reconstruction of a mandibular defect resulting from gunshot trauma.

Clinical Findings: A 5-cm defect of the right mandibular body was evident. A segment of the mandibular body was removed 9 weeks earlier because of severe contamination and comminution associated with gunshot trauma.

Kinetic gait analysis of healthy dogs on two different surfaces.

Objective: To determine the effects of 2 different, commonly used surfaces with different coefficients of friction on ground reaction forces in normal dogs.

Study Design: Prospective, observational, single cross-over study.

Animals: Dogs (n=10) with no gait abnormalities.

Absolute and relative cell counts for synovial fluid from clinically normal shoulder and stifle joints in cats.

Objective: To determine absolute and relative cell counts for synovial fluid from grossly, radiographically, and histologically normal shoulder and stifle joints in healthy cats.

Design: Clinical study.

Animals: 52 cats scheduled to be euthanatized for unrelated reasons.

Treatment with a combined cystopexy-colopexy for dysuria and rectal prolapse after bilateral perineal herniorrhaphy in a dog.

A 9-year-old castrated male Yorkshire Terrier was evaluated for dysuria and rectal prolapse 2 weeks after bilateral perineal herniorrhaphy. Dysuria was secondary to caudal displacement of the bladder, rather than retroflexion of the bladder. Dysuria and rectal prolapse were associated with disruption of supporting ligaments of the urinary bladder and colon, which may have been caused by tenesmus.

Clinical and pathologic analyses of bicipital tenosynovitis in dogs.

Objective: To determine the clinical and pathologic findings in dogs with primary bicipital tenosynovitis.

Animals: 19 dogs with 20 shoulder joints treated surgically for bicipital tenosynovitis and 8 shoulder joints from 4 clinically normal dogs.

Procedure: Histologic abnormalities of tendon sheaths of the biceps brachii in affected dogs were determined by use of comparison with findings in clinically normal dogs.