Veterinary Internship: Day 27: Spays, Abscess Check-up, and Cysts.

Today, the animals that were staying at the hospital for the day were a Bichon mix named Sophie, a Domestic Short-Haired named Noel, and a Yorkie named Sammy D. Ellie is still at the hospital, and Norma was here for half of the day and she was then able to go home. Sophie was getting spayed, and she was very difficult to get ready for the surgery because she was so scared; She was a very sweet dog, but she knew she was at the hospital and when anyone would touch her (in a way that wasn’t petting her) she would shrivel up and start to shriek. We were able to get her under anesthesia, though, and she was fine and perky after the surgery was over. Noel was also a spay, and she was a very pretty, unique looking cat. She, too, was very feisty and difficult to prepare for the surgery, and she was also very feisty and distrusting after she woke up from the anesthesia (after the surgery). However, she, too, seemed to be healing fine. Sammy D has pancreatitis, but he was very hyper all day (most of the animals that have been in with Pancreatitis are quite lethargic). He is receiving the medications of Cerenia (to prevent vomiting), Pepcid (to help prevent vomiting caused by acid reflex), and Buprenorphine (to help ease any pain the Pancreatitis was causing).

Sophie, the Bichon mix.

Noel, the Domestic Short-Haired.

The main patients we had today were a recheck for Penelope, and a Cockatiel named Sammi. Penelope is the cat from day 22, who had the burst abscess on her tail. Dr. Kris took the bandage off and looked at the wound, and is has been healing quite nicely over the past week! The wound has become much smaller, though it still isn’t healed; so, Dr. Kris sprayed more Vetericyn VF on the wound, re-bandaged it, and sent Penelope home for another week to give the wound time to heal. Sammi came in today because she had what are known as feather cysts; feather cysts occur when a new feather (sometimes multiple new feathers in one spot) doesn’t come through the skin, and instead begins to grow and curl under the skin within the follicle, forming the cyst. Dr. Lou opened the cysts and took out the baby feathers that were causing the cysts. She then flushed the cysts with saline solution to make sure all the bad feathers were out, and then took a sodium nitrate applicator and applied sodium nitrate to the opened cysts (the sodium nitrate helps the cysts clot/stop bleeding). Sammi was then good to go.