Bovine Surgery and Lameness

A. David Weaver, Owen Atkinson, Guy St. Jean, Adrian Steiner

• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781119040460
• eBook ISBN: 9781119040491
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Veterinary Medicine

The revised and updated Third Edition of Bovine Surgery and Lameness offers veterinarians a concise text ideal for use in the field. 

• Offers a fully revised edition of the popular and well-respected book on bovine surgery and lameness
• Presents a practical quick-reference guide ideal for the field veterinarian
• Covers both common surgical procedures and the latest information on combating lameness
• Written by an expert team of international authors
• Includes access to a companion website offering video clips

 

Chapter 1
General Considerations and Anaesthesia

1. 1.1 Pre-operative assessment
2. 1.2 Instrumentation
3. 1.3 Asepsis
4. 1.4 Sutures and suturing
5. 1.5 Restraint
6. 1.6 Pre-medication and sedation
7. 1.7 General anaesthesia
8. 1.8 Local analgesics
9. 1.9 Regional analgesia

1.1 Pre-operative Assessment

Introduction

The bovine patient is a stoical animal and modern crushes and physical restraint options allow many techniques to be carried out in the field. However, this should not excuse a thorough clinical and ethical assessment prior to any surgical procedure.

Assessment should include numerous factors apart from the physical condition of the subject:

• welfare implications of the procedure
• potential duration of a productive life
• economic situation including insurance status and economic return on the surgery
• surgical risk regarding complete recovery
• future breeding prospects including heritability of the condition being corrected
• pathology of other body systems directly or indirectly related to the primary condition

General physical examination is essential before emergency or elective surgery to assess risks and concurrent disorders.

Welfare and Quality of Life

Animal welfare may be judged using a number of criteria. Making these judgements is an essential part of the vet's role. Vets must also lead by example. Decisions to perform surgery, and how it is to be done, are complex. Foremost in the process must be the welfare of the cow or calf. The surgeon should ask themselves:

• How necessary is this procedure: will benefits to the animal outweigh any pain or discomfort?
• What will the animal's quality of life be afterwards? Is the procedure likely to lead to a ‘life worth living’ or preferably ‘a good life’ for the animal in question?
• How does this procedure compare with an alternative option of humane slaughter or euthanasia?
• To what extent can pain and discomfort be mitigated during and after the procedure?
• To what extent can fear and distress be mitigated during and after the procedure?
• What can we learn from this situation to make life better for cows and calves in the future?

The last question is vital: sometimes it is easy for the surgeon to focus on the individual animal in question (that is important too) but lose sight of the greater picture. For example: performing surgery on a cow with toe necrosis can greatly improve her quality of life, but what measures can be put in place to prevent further cases? You are asked to dehorn or castrate some yearling cattle: could it be done at a younger age next time?

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Warning

Some procedures are deemed to be simply unethical and there is legislation in place preventing them, though there are regional variations. Examples in the UK of illegal procedures include:

• tail docking in calves or adult cattle (except in cases of injury)
• castration over one week by means of an elastrator
• castration without anaesthetic for animals over two months of age

Furthermore, the Veterinary Surgeons Act means that any surgery involving entering a body cavity (e.g. joint spaces; abdomen; thoracic cavity) can only be carried out by a qualified veterinary surgeon in the UK. It is incumbent on the vet to provide suitable anaesthesia and analgesia.

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Anaesthesia techniques are described in Section 1.7–1.9. Peri-operative analgesia is discussed in Section 2.11, though there is clearly overlap in these two areas of pharmacology and surgical preparation. The use of a crush/squeeze chute should never replace adequate analgesia and ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• About the Companion Website
• Chapter 1: General Considerations and Anaesthesia
• Chapter 2: Fluid and Supportive Therapy
• Chapter 3: Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures
• Chapter 4: Head and Neck Surgery
• Chapter 5: Abdominal Surgery
• Chapter 6: Female Urinogenital Surgery
• Chapter 7: Teat Surgery
• Chapter 8: Male Urinogenital Surgery
• Chapter 9: Musculoskeletal Conditions and Lameness
• Appendix
• Index
• End User License Agreement