A Bittersweet Goodbye

The final week of internship was bittersweet. For my final two days at the main hospital in Paramus, I assisted with vitals and transporting patients to where they were needed. While it was sad that it was my final days everyone in surgery said they would miss me until they would see me again as an employee! One of my coworkers even wrote me a letter to wish me the best of luck in my future because I am graduating this year. At the Hasbrouck Heights clinic, I was surprised when I was called into the break room. When I turned the corner I saw that all the employees had gotten me a cake and wrote a letter for me because it was my final day. They all wished me good luck and it was a nice to work with me, but in reality the pleasure and joy was all mine. This whole year has been an amazing experience that I will treasure forever and I'd like to thank Maggie Monza, Nicole Bailey, Diana Becerra, and Mary Peluso for giving me this amazing opportunity.

FHO Operation

This week there was a Golden Retriever who had to undergo an FHO surgery on Wednesday. FHO stands for Femoral Head Osteotomy, which is the surgical removal of of the head and neck of the femur. In other words, it is the removal of the removal of the "ball" portion in the ball-and-socket hip joint. This procedure is done when a full hip replacement cannot be done. The surrounding muscles and tissue begin to act as a new joint. This Golden Retriever had already undergone an FHO on its other hind leg which meant it would need assistance to walk until the leg fully recovered. On Tuesday the patient came in and bloods were taken. Then, on Wednesday surgery was performed by Dr. Miller and Dr. Murphy as I observed.

Making Flushes

Flushes are syringes containing three milliliters of IV fluids (Intravenous Therapy fluids). These fluids are utilized so the patient's body does not become dehydrated while under anesthesia. In order to make a flush, all that is needed is a bag of IV fluid, a box of three milliliter syringes, and a black Sharpie marker. First the syringe mus be taken out of the secured plastic cover it is packed in. Then, an F must be written on the top of the syringe so whenever someone goes to use it, they know it is a flush. After this, the syringe is put into the bag of IV fluid and three milliliters are taken out. The only thing that must be done afterwards is ensuring no air bubbles are left in the syringe, which can cause air to be put into the veins of a patient. The process is repeated until the box of syringes is finished.

The English Mastiff

Dr. Murphy shared with me what occurs to a dog who must go into surgery for a gastric dilatation and volvulus (GDV), otherwise known as a stomach bloat. This happens when the stomach of a dog becomes full of gas. Unfortunately, this extra air can cause severe abdominal pain and the stomach begins to rotate, losing blood supply and any possible way of losing the extra gas. Without surgery, the victim can die within hours from agonizing pain of the twisting stomach. Soon after she explained exactly what happens, she told me the patient was a massive English Mastiff laying on the floor in CCU if I wanted to take a look. Therefore, I walked down to CCU and saw the dog laying on the floor with stitches near his stomach.

Declaw Surgery

When I was at my internship in Paramus, I was able to observe multiple declaw surgeries. Although personally I feel the idea of taking a cat's claws off is inhumane, it opened my eyes to what I may have to deal with one day when I become a Veterinarian. Dr. Fettig made the process seem simple as it only took him around 10 to 15 minutes to finish the surgery. I was able to see Dr. Fettig amputate the last bone on the cat's toe which would obviously permanently remove the nail. In order to prevent any infection from occurring, bandages along with gauze pads were taped onto the end of the cat's legs.

Yeast Infection in Ears

At the Oradell Veterinary group in Hasbrouck Heights, there was a patient, dog, who has been scratching its ears for days and in the past has been treated for it. An ear wash was performed on the dog and it behaved well. After swabbing out the dog's ears, wax was put onto a slide and observed under the microscope by Doctor Boren. As he was observing he told us that the dog had yeast growing inside of its ears and had to be treated for it. Shortly after, he asked if I wanted to see what it looked like. It was interesting to look at and the bacteria looked like purple shoes. I followed Doctor Boren back into the room and he told the owners that the dog had a yeast infection and had to be treated for it. The corresponding medication was prescribed and given.

A Dose of Ampicilin

For the very first time this week, I was able to give a dose of Ampicillin and a flush to a patient that was going to be put into surgery. The experience was unique and exciting because I felt like I was really making a difference in the dog's health for the better. Although it was only minor and anyone could do it, I felt more useful and like a difference maker.

The process was simple. I was given a needle with 5 ml of ampicillin and a flush, containing 3 ml of saline, by Nicole Bailey, a vet tech. The IV was already placed into the pug's leg so I did not have to poke a vein. Instead, all that had to be done was inserting the needle into the IV and slowly giving the dose to the dog. After the dose is given, a flush is given to make sure all the medication is in the system and no negative effects occur.

Check-Ups in Heights

In Hasbrouck Heights the office is very small; there are only three rooms for patients to go into when they are going to be looked at by a veterinarian. On Thursdays, Dr. Boren is the only veterinarian who is in this office. I often go in with him to either assist or observe as one of the veterinary techs help him. This week not many appointments were made between 12-3 pm. There were only three appointments, two cats and one dog. One of the cats was brought in for a check up on her blood because she was gaining a lot of weight. Also, a pitbull was brought in to transfer all files from its previous veterinarian.

Beating of a Dog's Heart

In surgery there was a Yorkie who had a mass growing on the inside of its chest. Dr. Miller was the surgeon in the room and he explained to me that the mass made it appear as if the dog had two hearts. Although the surgery was rather quick, it was very interesting to watch because Dr. Miller showed me the beating of a dog's heart. Once he removed the mass from the dog, he stepped back and told me I could take a closer look as long as I did not step too close. As I looked into the hole made in the dog, the lung came over the heart as the dog took a breath and the heart pumped which was fascinating to watch. Once I stepped back Dr. Miller said, "and that's why surgery is the best!"

Howling Pitbull

At my internship in Oradell there is a part of the surgery room that is known as Recovery. The function of this room is self-explanatory. After surgery, patients are brought into this room to recover and rest until they are able to walk again and function normally. There was a female pit-bull this week named Aaliyah and she did not stop howling. As I was assisting the veterinary technicians, I heard her howls of pain and did not see her. Once I finished with the task at hand, I walked over to Recovery and saw that it was a grey female pit-bull. As soon as I walked into the room she looked at me and in her eyes I was able to see the pain and agony she was in. I made my way over to her and started to show her affection because she was sick and all alone. After ten minutes of siting with her I stood up and began to walk away. The howling began once again so I turned back around and began to pet her once again. A couple of more minutes passed and she was taken away to a different room because she had recovered significantly.

Check-Up Appointments

Compared to the main hospital in Paramus, the office in Hasbrouck Heights is very small. My internship there is on Thursdays and usually it becomes rather busy between the hours of 2 and 3 pm. I observe check-up appointments by Dr. Boren, and the patients that come in vary from turtles and guinea pigs to cats and dogs. This week when I arrived, there were two turtles in the third room. It was very interesting to see because it was the first time I saw a turtle at the vet office. Although I did not come in until the very end of the appointment, the owner of the two turtles let me see them and told me one was in for inability of laying her eggs.

Mass Removals

This week at internship there were a couple of mass removal surgeries which are interesting to observe. The mass can be cancerous which obviously means the mass is a tumor and must be removed. Other masses could be non-cancerous and removed for cosmetic reason by the wants of the owner. When masses are cancerous or unknown they are put into a biopsy jar to be taken for further examining. There was a dog with eight masses and all were removed. The instruments shown above are used during mass removal surgeries.

Days of Surgery

Throughout the week I observed surgeries at the hospital which ranged from a mass removal to a neuter. The mass removal was conducted by Dr. Miller and was a quick process because the mass was very small and did not seem to be cancerous. The neuter took around twenty minutes and was a quick process as well. There were no time consuming surgeries this week. When I was not observing in surgery, I was assisting Veterinary Technicians in surgery prep by taking vitals and lifting animals onto tables.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog where you will be able to see some of the things I do throughout my internship. At Oradell Animal Hospital I observe treatments in cardiology, neurology, and surgery.