Day 12

6-8-10

When I arrived this morning, I was pleased to note that the fox had eaten all of the kibble I left for her, but as I expected, she hadn’t regained the use of her back legs.

At about 10 a.m. Dr. Dan did surgery on an egg-bound parakeet. It was a very interesting surgery, and I learned a lot about the anatomy of the bird’s cloaca in the process. The egg was caught in the uterus as it was traveling to the cloaca. Therefore, instead of passing into the cloaca and out of the body, it got caught at the junction of the uterus and cloaca and it consequently prolapsed the cloaca. It had been prolapsed for so long that some the mucosa of the cloaca had become ischemic and dry. Dr. Dan ligated the healthy tissue above the egg, cut away the egg and the dead tissue around it, and reattached the uterus tissue to the correct opening of the cloaca. Once he pushed the healthy tissue back inside the bird, the cloaca returned to its original position with the uterus attached correctly. (See diagram for clarity)

Our second surgery of the day was a toe amputation on a Cockatiel. The bird in the adjacent cage had bitten his toe almost completely off the night before, so his owners brought him in when they noticed it this morning. Dr. Dan amputated the rest of the toe at the metacarpophalangeal joint. He bandaged the bird’s foot and then wrapped the foot in duct tape, which is beak-proof! This prevents the bird from tearing the bandage apart.

We had a ferret appointment this afternoon, and I learned that in ferrets, mast cell tumors are common, minor, and self limiting. I thought that was very interesting, considering the fact that many other species can be severely, and even fatally affected by mast cell tumors.

I also got to do a rat euthanasia and necropsy this afternoon! It was a lumpy pet store rat, so I actually got to perform the euthanasia myself. On necropsy, I discovered that the lumps were actually abscessed lymph nodes and the infection extended into the mesenteric lymph nodes as well. As much as I hate pathology rounds, and the smell of the necropsy floor, finding out the cause of a problem myself was pretty interesting.

At the end of the day today, I finally convinced Dr. Dan that I thought the fox needed to be euthanized and sent in for rabies testing. He was reluctant to grant my request, and said that if I wanted to send it in for testing, I would have to be the one to remove the head. I reassured him that I would do that. I did what needs to be done, and even in retrospect, I believe the risks outweighed the benefits, and I did the right thing.