Orthropedics

All I Really Need To Know About Veterinary Medicine I Learned In Kindergarten

This past weekend, I had a small break to check out some bridesmaid dresses for my sister's wedding!  The weather this week was in the 90s with decreased humidity; it felt beautiful!

I switched over to the orthopedic surgery rotation for the next two weeks. We had dog spays on Monday, several recheck appointments, and few appointments that didn't go to surgery (both of my appointments). Overall, it was a long hours and busy, but uneventful week.
The only surgery that we watched this week was a hind limb amputation.

I Will Never Be A Well Behaved Woman

For The Free Spirited Females

Surgery Craziness

As predicted, I got called in on Sunday for a left uretertomy (incision into the ureter) and cystotomy that ended up lasting 4 hours. The cat had stones in this ureter and blood clots in his bladder.
We had our dog neuter lab on Monday, however some of the dogs didn't show up, so a few of us didn't have a dog to neuter.  Hopefully, this just ensures us to have a spay dog next week.

Surgeries: Spleenectomy and foreign body removal in the same dog, another foreign body removal, laproscopic ovariectomy, 2 rostral manibulectomies (one of which was my patient) and a total ear canal ablation and lateral bulla ostetomy.

When Vets Cry

Small Animal Surgery Rotation

NY weekend:
As I was eating at a Mediterranean restaurant on the street, a unique looking individual ran by in cheekys and a floral grandma-looking nightie.  I overheard one of the other guests saying it was Elliot from Howard Stern.  I have no idea who that is, but I can now say that I saw a "celebrity" in New York.

Perfection 

SO much deliciousness

After thoroughly confusing a lot of people, I am currently back in Baton Rouge for my next rotation which is small animal surgery.......yikes.  I'm not a huge fan of surgery, especially orthropedics, but I will be on soft tissue surgery for two weeks and then orthropedics for two weeks.
The patients that I had this week were a Chihuahua with melanoma on her nose, a Shih Tzu that had mild irritation after a neuter, and a stent removal on Shih Tzu that had a bilateral rostal mandibulectomy.  The dog had a mandibulectomy because she had a mass growing on her gums.  Although the mass is commonly benign, it can be painful and disrupt the animal's eating.  Stents were placed in order to help support the lip.
The surgeries I saw this week were several mass removals, two cystomies, and a toe amputation.

I will be on call on Sunday and since I'm cursed that I've always gone in when I'm on call, we will see what exciting surgeries show up.

New York State Of Mind

New York State of Mind

Central Park zoo

The New York Public Library

Gyro from The Halal Guys

Serendipity frozen hot chocolate

66 Perry Street (aka Carrie Bradshaw's apartment)

Grimaldi's pizza

Magnolia Bakery's famous banana bread pudding

NY Cosmo

Strolling down the streets of the upper east side, I love wondering about the story's of the people I pass (I had also had just finished a fairly strong cosmopolitan): The business man arguing for his next deal, the elderly couple hobbling hand in hand, the jogger annoyed by the individuals in his way, the young guys trying to prove who is "more tough", the two girlfriends laughing about a horrible date, the mother eagerly checking her phone while her young daughter recklessly swings her shopping bag fantasizing about make believe, the doorman staring longingly out the window hoping of bigger dreams, the group of teenage girls trying to be older than they are, and the excited woman on her phone exclaiming about her new job offer.  So much life and so much to do! I have tried to do as much as I can these past two weeks, but there will always be somewhere more to explore.  Most days I leave my externship with a plan of where I want to have dinner and I almost always end up choosing a different place that I end up passing by on my way.  That's the fun and mystery of this place.  Who knows what the rest of my weekend will have in store?!

My adventure of traveling is done for a few months until after the NAVLE (national licensing exam).  I have some of the most demanding rotations coming up so I need to be on top of my game as well as find time to study.

Check out my beautiful friend's blog: VetAndReady

ASPCA Externship

New York, New York

As I am channeling my inner Carrie Bradshaw writing from a cafe down the street from the place I am staying, I can't help but wonder if you ended up guessing that my next externship was in NYC! (The 92 Questions from Sex and The City) Helping out where I have always wanted to, I am doing an externship at the ASPCA.  The facility works differently than most animal clinics because it's an adoption center, emergency clinic, forensics center, and specialty practice all in one.  A wide variety of medical issues are seen; I have seen electrical cord burns on a tongue (the tongue sloughed off when we examined it), icteric pets (they were so icteric that their skin was yellow as well as the typical yellow serum presentation), multiple high rise syndrome cats, several hit-by-cars, several fractures and amputations, toxicities, several foreign bodies, malnourishment, urinary obstructions, and heart failure.
Check out all of their adoptable pets! Since spending time with a lot of them, I know they are great pets! I just wish I could take one home myself!

I am loving every moment in NYC.  Every day I take a different street to my externship (2 miles one way) in order to explore something new.  I have been to NY a few times before, but this time I can really immerse myself in it, after all this is the city that never sleeps.  Particularly, I love that everyone is happy to do their own thing; I saw many singles out to dinner alone or grabbing a drink alone.  I was delighted to be able to catch up with friends while here as well. So far on this trip I ventured to Dylan's Candy Bar, the 9/11 memorial, Le District, the Charging Bull, Katz's (where you can have what she's having), Eataly (this store needs to be near me), Times Square, the M&M shop, Baked by Melissa cupcakes, walked along Madison Avenue on the upper east side for the designer shops, Sprinkles, Serendipity, Uva, and a few other little street places.

Since we are summoning my inner Carrie Bradshaw these next two weeks, here are some of my favorite Sex and the City quotes:

-"Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with" -Carrie

-"The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself.  And if you find someone to love the you that you love, well that's just fabulous." -Carrie

-"I'm looking for love. Real love. Ridiculous, inconvenient, consuming, can't-live-without-each-other-love." -Carrie

-"I've been dating since I was fifteen, I'm exhausted! Where is he?" -Charlotte

-"Absofuckinlutely" -Mr Big

-"I'd like a cheeseburger, please, large fries, and a cosmopolitan" -Carrie

-"Single and fabulous, exclamation point." -Carrie

Colic

She Died Peacefully At Home

There was a spay day at animal control on Sunday that I was able to help with right before getting called in for a foal with chronic diarrhea.  This week I had a colic patient who underwent surgery on emergency and got transferred to me the next day.  She was suppose to go home since she was doing so well, but then started to shows signs of colic again. Our service saw a tooth root abscess surgery, ruptured tendon,  another arthroscope, and lots of colic. I was on call again on Wednesday and again got called in for a horse with colic with unfortunately ended up bring euthanized.

For those not as familiar with horses: The true term "colic" refers to generalized abdominal pain.  There is a variety of signs and causes of colic and finding out the cause is of course where the vet comes in.  There are several diagnostics including checking vitals, gut sounds, rectal palpation, nasogastric tube, abdominocentesis, radiographs, and ultrasound.  A nasogastric tube is a tube that is placed up the nose, down the esophagus, and into the stomach in order to relieve fluid or gas buildup as well as used to administer fluids and mineral oil. The treatment includes anaglesics (pain meds), fluids, laxatives, and sometimes surgery. Prevention comes from feeding a well rounded diet.

I've thoroughly enjoyed working with these powerful yet sensitive creatures.  I received several compliments from the intern, resident, and clinician that I worked with and I was even asked to think about working in equine medicine.  Hmm, this just makes my decision of what to do after school that much more difficult.

I will be traveling again this weekend for my next rotation and externship! Start spreading the news. Any guesses where to this time?

Equine Surgery Rotation

Back in LA and first stop was food of course!  One less food item (Muffaletta) off part of my 30 before 30 list!

For the next two weeks, I will be on my equine surgery rotation which means powerful, expensive creatures and 12 hour days. While on this rotation, we saw a mare with a laceration, a mare with a neck abscess (my patient) with a foal who had surgery for a patent urachus, chronic lameness which was very difficult to diagnosis what was causing the lameness, nasal discharge which turned out to be a tooth root abscess, which we removed, and a bilateral carpal arthroscopy (my patient).  The chronic lameness horse was the most frustrating because none of the diagnostic joint and nerve blocks that we performed seemed to help show us where the lameness was coming from.  The horse will have to have further diagnostic testing.

(I do actually do the second to last picture and lucky not the last yet)

Love this! It's so true! : The Husbandry And Feeding Of Veterinarians For New Owners