ER vet

Apologies for being a bit out of the loop lately. What with traveling and working at an emergency centre doing night-work it's been pretty flat out. Emergency work is both exciting and terrifying. Exciting because I might finally have the toys I need to actually treat some emergency cases, terrifying because I probably won't know how to use them! 

As if in response to my future as an ER vet, the past couple of weeks have kept me busy with common emergencies, almost as if to prepare me for my new job. I've had a C-section, dogfight stitch-up, poisoning, GDV (twisted stomach in a large dog) and removal of a splenic tumour the size of a rock-melon from the abdomen of an Alsation. Phew!

GDV's are particularly nasty and I always warn owners that it's a 50:50 chance as you never know how much damage has already been done. What added to the pressure this time was that it was one of our nurses' dogs, and my favorite dog of the bunch! Luckily she got the dog to us at the first sign of trouble and I am convinced that the timing of presentation is the most critical factor in the survival of these cases. That, and having three vets and two nurses involved in the operation!