Over the last year I have been building the laparoscopic (keyhole) surgical service at FVH. I first became interested in laparoscopic surgery when I was undertaking a residency in equine surgery at the Royal Veterinary College in the UK many moons ago.
I had the opportunity to undertake further training in Colorado to adapt these skills to small animal laparoscopy and then invest in the necessary equipment.
I particularly enjoy the minimally invasive nature of laparoscopic procedures over traditional open surgical procedures as I believe that that they lead to superior patient comfort in the post-operative phase and potentially quicker recoveries. I also appreciate the direct visualization of the internal structures. There is virtually no bleeding and if there happened to be any I can immediately address it.
We now have the ability to perform several procedures in this way; laparoscopic spays, liver biopsies, gastropexies (“stomach tacking” to prevent bloat) and searching for intraabdominal testes that have not descended in male dogs.
By: Dr. O’Hara