Want To Be A Better Surgeon? Play Video Games!July 9, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @VetPetNews Video games have become more advanced since the days of Pong and Atari. They’re more interactive, allowing gamers to control the outcome of the game through their movements. Nintendo’s Wii forces players to stand up, move their arms and legs in such a way that the character on the screen does the same. But can video games really improve a doctor’s skills? Heather Towle-Millard, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS believes that it does. In a study in human medicine, laparoscopic box trainers were used to test dexterity and psychomotor skills. The study revealed that participants “who played video games more than three hours per week had 37 percent fewer errors, were 27 percent faster and scored 42 percent better in the box trainer exercises than students who had no video game experience,” according to JConline. This led to the conclusion that perhaps playing video games improved the students’ laparoscopic surgery skills. After learning of the study from colleague Lynetta Freeman, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, Dr. Towle-Millard wondered if conducting the study with veterinary students would produce the same results. …
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LSU Hosts Large Animal Health Seminar August 2July 8, 2014 The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine’s Partnering for Large Animal Health Education Series will take place Aug. 2 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. The continuing education program, aimed for veterinarians, will feature presentations on equine and farm animal health. Topics will include surgery, farm animal medicine, equine flu, acupuncture, equine medicine, equine endocrinology and reproduction. Four hours of continuing education can be earned for the course. Thanks to a donation from Boehringer-Ingelheim, there is no registration fee to attend. Proceedings, refreshments and lunch will also be provided. Registration is still required. For details, visit the website here. In addition to the seminars, faculty will give tours of the new Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
No More Stuck Eggs For This Goose, UC Davis SaysJune 30, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Veterinarians from the University of California, Davis recently treated a goose that had eggs she was unable to pass. The goose, named Prophet, has been living at Farm Sanctuary in Orland, Calif., for the past 16 years. On a visit to Farm Sanctuary, faculty and resident veterinarians with U.C. Davis’ Companion Exotic Animal Medicine & Surgery Service could feel firm structures in Prophet’s coelomic cavity. The concern was possible egg binding, meaning Prophet was unable to pass eggs she had formed. Farm Sanctuary allowed the veterinarians to bring Prophet back to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for further diagnostic evaluation. Radiographs clearly showed the structures were eggs that she was unable to pass, but exactly where those eggs were in her body was the big question, according to U.C. Davis. UC DAVIS The radiograph that clearly showed Prophet had eggs she was unable to pass. Specialists from the Diagnostic Imaging Service consulted with Prophet’s veterinarians over ultrasound images to see if they could determine if the eggs were in her oviduct or were free in …
UGA Reports Successful Feline Kidney TransplantJune 30, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews A Siamese cat named Arthur is doing well after receiving a new kidney, according to veterinarians who led the procedure at the University of Georgia (UGA) Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The kidney transplant, performed on May 15, involved using stem cells harvested from the patient to optimize the cat’s acceptance of the new kidney. The surgery is the hospital’s second successful feline kidney transplant using feline adult stem cells. “To the best of our knowledge, UGA is the only veterinary facility in the world to use adult stem cells in feline kidney transplantation,” said Chad Schmiedt, DVM, a board-certified small animal surgeon who heads UGA’s feline kidney transplant program. The male cat is nearly four years old and was diagnosed with chronic renal failure about a year ago. Two other veterinary teaching hospitals had previously declined to perform Arthur’s surgery due to possible complications, according to UGA, including concerns that tests showed Arthur’s body did not absorb as much cyclosporine as desired. When Dr. Schmiedt met Arthur’s owners, he suggested using feline adult stem cells, also known as mesenchymal stem …
Pets of Low Income, Homeless Owners to Receive More Veterinary CareJune 25, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. The Pixie Project will be able to provide low income and homeless families additional veterinary care for their pets, thanks to a grant of $7,500 from Banfield Charitable Trust. Already an advocate for finding permanent homes for shelter animals and for providing free and low-cost procedures for pets of owners with financial struggles, the grant will allow The Pixie Project to provide veterinary services regularly. These services, which are conducted through the nonprofit’s Veterinary Assistance Program, include tumor removal, spaying and neutering, amputations, teeth extractions and stitches. The Portland, Oregon-based Pixie Project will use the grant money for veterinary technicians, occasional veterinarians if a volunteer veterinarian is unavailable and surgical supplies. “We are incredibly grateful to Banfield Charitable Trust to partner with us on this project,” Pixie Project executive director Amy Sacks said, according to The Oregonian. “Veterinary care is expensive, and very often people are asked to surrender their animal if they want it to receive care. We believe that helping …
K-State’s DVM/PhD Scholarship Program In Full SwingJune 24, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dual DVM/PhD Scholarship Program is in full swing with its first student to complete the DVM portion of the program. Charley Cull, College of Veterinary Medicine class of 2014, will spend the next year or so finishing his Ph.D. The college offers the dual DVM/PhD to a select group of students to make the option of earning the two degrees more financially practical. Although earning both degrees at the same time can be a demanding and financially challenging undertaking, it can also provide several career options beyond that of a traditional DVM, according to the school. Areas of graduate training include comparative medicine, infectious disease, clinical/production medicine and others. Participants can pursue graduate research training at Kansas State, cooperating United States Department of Agriculture laboratories and other qualified academic institutions. “The DVM profession has many opportunities through general practice and veterinary specialties, as well as working for the USDA, government or even politics,” Dr. Cull said. “The Ph.D. probably brings in more of the data-driven jobs — wanting to know more answers, seeing if …
Veterinary Eye Doctors Rally To Help Service DogsJune 23, 2014 More than 7,000 service animals received free eye exams in May as part of an American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists campaign designed to honor their public work. Nearly 29,000 service animals have been examined over the seven years of the National Service Animal Eye Exam Event, the ACVO reported today. Nearly all the patients examined this year were dogs employed as guide, handicapped assistance, detection, military, search and rescue, or registered therapy animals, but horses and a donkey were checked as well. More than 250 board-certified veterinary ophthalmologists participated in the event in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, looking for everything from eye redness, squinting and cloudy corneas to retinal disease, early cataracts and other abnormalities. “Early detection and treatment are vital to these working animals,” said Stacee Daniel, executive director of the Meridian, Idaho-based ACVO. “Our hope is that by checking their vision early and often, we will be able to help a large number of service animals better assist their human friends.” Success was measured not only by what the ophthalmologists did or didn’t find but also by the response of the owners. “Special thanks go out to the service …
Soring Bill at Risk as Congressional Term Winds DownJune 23, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Supporters of legislation that would stiffen penalties for soring sent a message to federal lawmakers last week: Giddyup. Introduced in April 2013, the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act has been sitting in a House subcommittee for the past year and will die if the current Congress fails to advance and approve the bill by January 2015. Representatives of the American Veterinary Medical Association joined horse owners and other backers June 18 for the Walk on Washington. Tennessee Walking Horses, spotted saddle horses and racking horses paraded through Union Square in view of the U.S. Capitol in support of the proposed law, which counts 292 House members and 56 senators as co-sponsors. The American Association of Equine Practitioners and dozens of other veterinary, horse industry and animal protection groups have called on Congress to pass the bill. The PAST Act would amend the Horse Protection Act by: • Making the actual act of soring illegal. Soring is the deliberate infliction of pain to produce a high-stepping, unnatural gait in performance horses. • Increasing civil and criminal penalties for violations. • …
Start-Up Drug Maker Kindred Biosciences Moving QuicklyJune 20, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News at @vetpetnews Veterinarians in 2015 may have three more pharmaceutical options for dogs suffering from osteoarthritis, atopic dermatitis or postoperative pain if Kindred Biosciences can keep to its timetable. The development-stage drug maker is flush with money, ideas, and veterinary and business expertise as it manages a pipeline filled with more than 10 potential products designed for the treatment of everything from gastrointestinal disease in cats to laminitis in horses. The drugs likely to debut first are CereKin, AtoKin and SentiKin. The farthest along is the osteoarthritis medication CereKin (diacerein), an interleukin-1 beta inhibitor that has completed canine enrollment in a multicenter, pivotal field study. The Burlingame, Calif., company expects to file a New Animal Drug Application for CereKin this year and hopes to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval in 2015. All that for a company that didn’t exist three years ago. “The completion of enrollment … on schedule and on budget is a strong validation of our business model and a testament to the quality and dedication of our team,” said Kindred co-founder Richard Chin, MD, whose career includes leadership roles at human …
Calming Drug Reformulated for Small Cats, DogsJune 19, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews Dexdomitor, a sedative and preanesthetic manufactured by Zoetis Inc., now comes is a dosage appropriate for smaller dogs and cats. The new formulation, Dexdomitor 0.1, has a 0.1 mg/ml dosage. The volume permits U.S. veterinarians to more accurately administer doses for dogs less than 20 pounds and cats less than seven pounds, Zoetis reported today. Dexdomitor (dexmedetomidine) is used to keep pets calmer in treatment rooms. Available in Europe since August 2013, the new formulation is one-fifth the concentration of original Dexdomitor, negating the need for dilution. “Dexdomitor and now Dexdomitor 0.1 allow veterinarians and their staff to perform minor procedures on small dogs and cats, which they might not be able to do if the pet were struggling or resisting being held by staff members,” said J. Michael McFarland, DVM, Dipl. ABVP, the group director of Companion Animal Veterinary Operations for Zoetis. “Using a sedation protocol helps enhance the comfort and safety of the pet and the staff and provides a more positive clinic visit for the client as well.” Zoetis, based in Florham Park, N.J., commissioned a survey in March that …
