Life and Death

I started off the day with 4 cows in the clinic with LDAs. A LDA (left displaced abomasum) is when one of the cow's four stomachs, the abomasum, goes from the lower right side of the abdomen underneath one of the other stomachs (the rumen) to the upper left side of the abdomen.

To figure out this diagram, pretend you are looking through the cow from the rear end to the head

There are many ways to fix it, but the way we chose to fix it today is called Pyloromentopexy. This procedure involves opening up the abdomen, replacing the abomasum, and then suturing part of it to the abdominal wall to keep if from moving it again. The interesting thing about doing this surgery is that the cow is actually awake and standing the entire time. We do a local anesthetic block on the right side of the abdomen and then cut them open. So today I got to stick my arm into the abdomen of an awake cow and feel around the abdomen!

During the LDA surgeries earlier in the day, we took a break to do some mare reproductive activities that involves a rectal ultrasound and planning on when to artificially inseminate them. There were also 4 piglets that died suddenly earlier today that came in for sample collection. We collected brain, heart, small intestine, and colon to be sent off for tests. I got to show the doctors how to do a brain extraction with a cast cutter. Thank you skills from my pathology rotation! 

The doctor was going to let me close the incision for the last cow, however, right before closing an emergency came in and he just did a quick closure. Although I was disappointed in not being able to practice, it was an interesting emergency; a goat having a difficult birthing (aka kidding in this case). When we went to see the animal, the poor mama goat had a baby goat head hanging out of her backside. We pushed the head back in and ended up delivering 2 live baby goats.

The two cutie-pies

The proud mama