Our Local Student Shines in First Surgery

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This week we welcome our first Veterinary student to the Camp. Romanian Claudia Dessaux is in her 4th year at Bucharest University. We were delighted to guide her through her first canine ovariohysterectomy. Despite some understandable first time nerves she did very well. Dr Petrisor Stefan is pleased with the progress of our new trainee. She has developed her tissue handling skills in a short space of time and is really putting into practice what she has been taught so far. 

Ovariohysterectomy is a Piece of Cake!

Last week we were joined by Veterinary Surgeon Wenche Mokkelgard from Holmedal in Norway. It was a warm week with temperatures in the mid twenties, around 10 oC higher than in Norway at present. She received an equally warm welcome at the clinic in Bucharest where the course was held.

Our emphasis this week was canine ovariohysterectomy as this is the area Wenche felt she could improve her skills the most. Dr Aurelian Stefan found to his delight Wenche already had a sound basis in surgical skills and set to work developing and expanding her abilities. She got to grips with some new suture techniques that will help her sleep at night as she now can be confident her ligatures and sutures are safe and secure. She mastered the skill of handling stainless steel sutures, which is not easy. This is a strong, non reactive suture that will never fail if your technique is correct.

The week contained some tough surgeries from deep chested dogs to pregnant females but our attendee took it all in her stride and was a seasoned pro by the end of the week, able to remove any uterus put in front of her with skill and efficiency. The deep chested and lactating females were perfect candidates for Wenche to learn a flank approach to ovariohysterectomy in the dog. She learnt when to use this approach and why in some dogs it can be considered preferable to a midline incision.

The easiest incision of the week!

As life is always full of surprises it is important to know what to do with a bleeding patient as this is a serious complication and potentially fatal even if you are aware of the problem as soon as it happens. Most newly qualified (and some more experienced vets) if they are honest fear this situation which is why at the Veterinary Training Camp we prepare you for this emergency so you clearly know what to do if you encounter a haemorrhage in the future. We are confident if Wenche does come across a haemhorrage in her surgical career she will be having a stiff drink afterwards to celebrate a successful outcome not to get over the stress of the life or death situation!

 Overall it was an intensive week but very satisfying to see someone develop their surgical confidence. Wenche worked extremely hard and the results show. Everyone at the clinic found her a delight to work with and we wish her all the best as she pursues her veterinary career.

Example of a VTC Spay

The Role of Neutering in Population Control

November 2011

Last week we ran a small specialised training camp with only one attendee. Dr. Florin-daniel Lucaciu travelled from Baia Mare in the Northwest of Romania. His training has been sponsored by Romania Animal Rescue (www.romaniaanimalrescue.com) and after his week with us we hope he will be able to work towards improving the welfare of stray dogs and participate in the Romania Animal Rescue Spay and neuter project integrated with the Think Stray Campaign.

It was an intensive week with several long days where Dr Lucaciu was operating between 9 o’clock in the morning and 9 o’clock at night. Even though the days were long, ending with aching muscles, time was still found to relax and enjoy a few alcoholic beverages.

The week started well even if the linear alba proved to be somewhat elusive to begin with. Attention to detail was important as Dr Lucaciu learnt about the properties of different sutures, where was best to use them and why. He tirelessly practiced his knots to ensure they were always secure and he also learnt the importance of haemostasis. Overall around 20 surgeries were performed.

Dr Aurelian was very pleased with how our trainee improved over the week and he certainly passed the test performing a bitch spay on a particularly large dog towards the end of his time with us.

Provided Dr Lucaciu continues to practice the techniques he has learnt with us he should be a valuable asset to many spay and neuter campaigns in the future as well as providing the best care to his patients. We wish him every success in this!

Day 5: Camp September 2011

The early start was not as difficult as I had expected after such a long day yesterday. The adrenaline fuelled excitement of making sure our last day counted probably helped, although I was sure the tiredness would catch up with me next week. The street dogs were in their usual locations as we arrived at the meeting place for the last time. When we arrived at Giurgiu we continued with our mission of spaying all of the pregnant females in the shelter and Katy also embarked on a special project.

Katy with Tar boy

A dog had been brought in which was covered in tar. We nicknamed him Tar boy. His skin was becoming sore especially around the mouth. He was anaesthetised and Katy spent most of the morning cutting the tar from his coat using only scissors and bathing him in detergent. She did an amazing job as he looked a different dog afterwards. We could say the same about Katy as she had tarry blotches all over herself!



Before dressing was removed



What was under the dressing

We were hard at work when the dog catchers arrived with a small male with a bandage around his elbow. They asked if we would have a look at him. You could smell him long before you could see the dressing clearly. The dirty dressing was saturated with infected wound discharge and bone was just visible at the top. One look and we reached for the anaesthetic, the quickest way to provide a good level of analgesia and allow us to have a proper look at what horrors lay beneath the bandage. The dog was amazingly well behaved despite having such a painful injury. Once he was asleep we removed the bandage to find an open fracture of both the radius and ulna. The surrounding tissue was hugely swollen and infected. We loaded him up with NSAID’s and antibiotics and set to work preparing the limb for amputation. Sandra began the surgery with Aurelian assisting and demonstrating techniques for achieving haemostasis. The dog was entire so he was castrated as well. We were just finishing the procedure when the Shelter owner came to tell us the owner had arrived. He was initially not happy that we had removed his dog’s leg but once the problem was explained he was extremely grateful. The dog had been hit by a car four days ago and the owner could not afford veterinary care for him. He was lucky to have been brought to us.


Our team of Surgeons!

Before the dematt

With all three vets involved with the amputation Katy was free to continue her welfare work and was able to shave a very badly matted dog. The dog must have been so uncomfortable with those tight mats and looked much better afterwards. Hopefully a haircut of that standard should really increase the chances of someone wanting to give him a home.

We were so caught up in our work we almost forgot about lunch. We made some time for this and went to eat overlooking the river Danube. It was beautiful. The camp attendees were presented with their diplomas for making it through a tough week and we returned to the shelter to fit in a couple of final surgeries before it was time to pack up and return to Bucharest. Before we left we inspected our patients for the last time. It really gave us a sense of achievement walking down a row of kennels seeing each dog with a pink ear tag signalling they had been neutered and by us! Our totals for today were 4 males and 7 females which gave us a grand total of 58 neutering operations over the 5 day period (not including the other dogs we treated). Maybe not a huge total in the scheme of things but we are happy each surgery was performed with the utmost care and attention with techniques that would minimise any chance of post operative complications.

We headed back to Bucharest, Sandra, Lidia and Katy talking about how they can put what they have learnt to good use. Me, I was thinking about our next camp, what we could see and the amazing people we could meet.

Day 4: Camp September 2011

Little did I know this would be a long but amazing day as I caught the metro to the meeting place. We were all tired but determined to make the most of our penultimate day of the Veterinary Training Camp. We were a well oiled team as we launched into our routine when we arrived at the shelter. Our previous patients were all looking good with the anaesthetic emergencies bright and happy, so all in all a good start to the day.



Dog with Glaucoma

We became very selective with the dogs we picked trying to make our choices count. As a result several of our surgeries were on pregnant females. The operations and anaesthetics went smoothly with Lidia and Sandra really demonstrating how routine surgery should be performed. We had also identified a dog with glaucoma and were able to perform an enucleation today, the second of the week.



The atmosphere was relaxed as we went about our work and we shared some interesting stories on topics ranging from small rodents to amazing inventions. It wasn’t just the camp attendees who were learning today.

Flank Spay

There was a great opportunity for Aurelian to teach a flank spay techniques. This is a technique which is adopted depending upon the patient and can be preferable in lactating bitches especially if feeding puppies. It is also sometimes chosen in deep chested dogs. Sandra quickly got to grips with the techniques and was able to see why this approach would be preferable in some cases.

Worming the puppies

If all of the surgeries did not keep us busy enough with an amazing 11 females and 6 males being neutered today plus the enucleation. Lidia, Sandra and Katy also set to work examining and worming a large group of puppies that arrived at the shelter. We made plans to bring vaccines for them tomorrow.



We were operating until after sunset using only lamps to work by in an effort to get as many dogs neutered as we could. As we were leaving the shelter, tired but satisfied, Aurelian got a call from Almavet a clinic in Bucharest. They had a complicated emergency case that they needed his expertise with.

Lidia Operating by Lamplight

We arrived back at Bucharest at about 9.30pm. Two cases were waiting at the clinic for us. The first was a 14 year old boxer with a pyometra, her bloods were fine so she was prepared for surgery which went without incident. The second case was a little more challenging and not just because it was happening at the end of a long day.

Penile trauma

The second case was major trauma to the penis, including a break to the os penis. The dog must have suffered extensive bleeding as he was pale and shocked. The decision was made to salvage as much of the healthy tissue as possible rather than opting for urethrostomy in the first instance. The physiological state of this dog meant his anaesthesia was just as challenging as the intricate surgery. Balancing fluid therapy, cardiac output and anaesthetic depth was a delicate minefield especially well after midnight following a long day. We are pleased to report the dog made it through his surgery as is doing very well. Further details and pictures of the surgery can be found on our facebook page.

We left the clinic in the early hours of the morning ready to grab a few hours sleep before our last day in Giurgiu. We had agreed to meet an hour earlier to make the most of the time we had left. As tired as I was I couldn’t wait to get started on the  work for the next day.