One year … this little blog started one year ago. My commitment at the time was: “The blog, published on the 1st and 3rd Monday of each month, will deal with a variety of topics, surgical or not, scientific or philosophical, deeply profound (let’s even say earth-shattering) or ever-so-slightly impertinent.” I continued: “We will discuss surgical principles, new products and emerging concepts, current techniques, oncology, anesthesia and pain management, relevant articles and recent professional meetings.” I guess almost all of these topics were discussed, but I think we can do even better next year. Just to check if you are ready to embark on this mind-boggling journey, let’s test your knowledge of past blogs—and beyond—and your medical and surgical knowledge. 1. Fill in the blank: “Moderate obesity in humans (about one third are overweight, or 50 to 60 pounds over the ideal) reduces human lifespan by about X years.” 2. Fill in the blank: “Severe obesity in humans (double the ideal weight), reduces lifespan by Y years, or about as much as smoking.” 3. Fill in the blank: “One author guesstimates that it takes Z hours to become competent at any worthwhile skill.” 4. What is the risk (in percent) of a dog having mammary tumors if she is spayed before the first heat? 5. What is the risk (in percent) of a dog having mammary tumors if she is spayed after her first heat? 6. What is the risk (in percent) of a dog having mammary tumors if she is spayed after her second heat? 7. What kind of protection against mammary tumors does a dog have if she is spayed after 2 years of age? 8. What percentage of non spayed female dogs will develop mammary tumors? 9. What is the risk of a mammary tumor being benign versus malignant in dogs? 10. What is the risk of a mammary tumor being benign versus malignant in cats? 11. What is the correlation between the size of a malignant mammary tumor and the prognosis in dogs? 12. What is the correlation between the size of a malignant mammary tumor and the prognosis in cats? 13. What is Pawspice? 14. Who developed the concept of Pawspice? 15. What does CEPSAF stand for in the anesthesia world? 16. Would you say that most perianesthetic deaths occur during induction, surgery or recovery? 17. Name a few examples of palliative surgery. 18. Fill in the blank: “X% of Americans have less than $10,000 in retirement savings, excluding pension and housing equity.” 19. Fill in the blank: “Y% of Americans have less than $1,000 in retirement savings.” 20. Fill in the blank: “Z% of Americans have not planned at all for retirement.” 21. What is the name of the gigantic amount of plastic pieces and debris floating in the Pacific Ocean somewhere between Hawaii and California? 22. Name 10 consequences of not performing surgery on a patient with an ACL tear. 23. Name 5 drugs derived from plants. 24. What is a potential consequence of a dog bite wound to a person without a spleen? 25. What is Capnocytophaga canimorsus? Granted, some of the above questions are really tough. If you missed some of our past blogs, keep in mind that we have some more exciting topics coming up in the upcoming year. So stay tuned, and check back often to read future blogs! Answers: 1. X = 3 years (Reference: “Obesity is just as bad as smoking”) 2. Y = 10 years (Reference: “Obesity is just as bad as smoking”) 3. Z = 1,000 (Reference: “How (in)competent are you?”) 4. 0.05% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 5. 8% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 6. 26% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 7. None (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 8. Over 25% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 9. About 50-50% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 10. About 90% (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 11. If a malignant tumor is smaller than 2 inches in diameter, we hope for a survival of 1 to 2 years. If the tumor measures more than 2 inches in diameter, survival could be 6 months. (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 12. The cut off is around 1 inch in diameter. (Reference: “Spay a pet, save a life”) 13. “Pawspice is hospice care for terminally sick patients, whether they have cancer, liver or kidney or heart failure, or the owner can’t afford treatment.” (Reference: “Changing the world, one patient at a time”) 14. Pawspice was developed by oncologist and VPN columnist Alice Villalobos. (Reference: “Changing the world, one patient at a time”) 15. CEPSAF stands for Confidential Enquiry into Perioperative Small Animal Fatalities (Reference: “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over”) 16. Over 50% of perianesthetic deaths occur within 3 hours of termination of anesthesia (Reference: ) 17. Splenectomy when we suspect the splenic mass is malignant, oral recurrent malignant melanoma to prevent constant bleeding, anal sac carcinoma excision despite metastasis to the sublumbar lymph node based on ultrasound (Reference: “Is palliative surgery ethical?”) 18. X = 43% (Reference: “Do you want to retire someday?”) 19. Y = 27% (Reference: “Do you want to retire someday?” ) 20. Z = 54% (Reference: “Do you want to retire someday?”) 21. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch (Reference: “We have met the enemy and he is us”) 22. Pain, degenerative joint disease, fibrosis, decreased range of motion, muscle atrophy, exercise intolerance or poor athletic performance, contralateral ACL tear, meniscal tear, weight gain and distant problems (Reference: “10 deadly sins of untreated ACLs”) 23. For example aspirin, atropine, yohimbine, theophylline and digitalis (Reference: “Drugs in our collective back yard”) 24. A devastating and possibly deadly infection (Reference: “Do you own a spleen?”) 25. Capnocytophaga canimorsus is the bacteria that can cause the infection mentioned in answer number 24 (Reference: “Do you own a spleen?”)
