Your Custom Quiz
In Miller 2024 et al., on staple vs. hand-sewn feline GI techniques, which enterotomy method showed significantly lower intraluminal pressure resistance?
🔍 Key Findings
- Skin staple anastomosis (SSA) had comparable leak pressures to hand-sewn anastomosis (HSA) but required half the time to complete.
- Skin staple enterotomy (SSE) had significantly lower leak pressures than hand-sewn enterotomy (HSE) and failed in 12/20 constructs during pressure testing.
- HSE constructs took 8× longer to complete than SSE, but had much higher intraluminal pressure tolerance.
- All SSE constructs leaked from the center, with 35% leaking immediately and 60% showing catastrophic failure.
- SSA leakage occurred at the center in 40% of constructs, likely due to a learning curve in early samples.
- All constructs had higher pressures than normal physiologic intestinal pressure (4.0 mmHg ±2.0), except some SSEs with immediate leaks.
- Authors recommend SSA as a viable alternative with appropriate training but do not recommend SSE using the tested technique in live cats.
- Staple size and placement technique are key factors; smaller or more precisely placed staples may reduce leak risk.
Veterinary Surgery
4
2024
Performance time and leak pressure of hand-sewn and skin staple intestinal anastomoses and enterotomies in cadaveric cats
2024-4-VS-miller-1
In Miller 2024 et al., on leak testing in cooled feline intestine, what was the finding regarding initial leak pressure (ILP) between fresh and cooled enterotomy constructs?
🔍 Key Findings
- No difference in initial leak pressure (ILP) or maximum intraluminal pressure (MIP) between cooled (17–29 h) and fresh enterotomy constructs.
- Wall thickness of duodenum and jejunum did not differ between fresh and cooled samples.
- Leak locations (suture holes vs clamp sites) were similar between groups; not statistically different.
- Volume of infusion did not influence ILP or MIP outcomes.
- Mean ILP values: Control = 600 mmHg (maxed), Fresh = 200 mmHg, Cooled = 131 mmHg; CE vs FE difference was not significant.
- Intraluminal diameter was largest in the ileum, followed by jejunum and duodenum.
- Cadaveric intestine cooled ≤29h may be reliably used in ex vivo feline leak pressure studies.
- First report of gross small intestinal lengths by region in cats—useful for resection planning.
Veterinary Surgery
5
2024
Cooled feline intestine and fresh intestine did not differ in enterotomy leak pressure testing or in gross wall thickness measurement
2024-5-VS-miller-1
In Schneider 2025 et al., on axillary LN extirpation, which anatomical landmark was critical for reliably locating the axillary lymph node?
🔍 Key Findings
- Lateral approach to ALN extirpation was successful in 100% of cases (44 dogs, 48 ALNs) with consistent anatomical landmarks (costochondral junction of rib 1 and caudal scapular edge).
- Median time for ALN removal was 16.6 minutes, highlighting a fast and efficient dissection method.
- No intraoperative complications were recorded (e.g., hemorrhage or inability to find the lymph node).
- Postoperative complications occurred in 18% of cases, including seromas (n=2), wound dehiscence (n=4), lameness (n=1), and discomfort (n=1).
- Histopathology revealed 56% of ALNs had tumor-related pathology, including overt metastases, early metastasis (HN2), or premetastatic changes (HN1).
- Normal-sized ALNs (<2 cm) still harbored metastases in 22% of cases, emphasizing the unreliability of size as a staging criterion.
- False negatives in cytology occurred in 4 cases, underlining the limitations of cytologic evaluation for staging.
- The technique was reproducible without specialized tools, suggesting wide applicability in general and referral practice.
Veterinary Surgery
6
2025
Axillary lymph node removal for staging cancer; description of a lateral approach and application in 44 tumor-bearing dogs
2025-6-VS-schneider-1
In Cheon 2025 et al., on guide accuracy in DFO, what was a notable advantage of the patient-specific guide?
🔍 Key Findings
- Both patient-specific and universal guides yielded correction errors <2°, with no statistically significant difference in accuracy.
- Universal guide corrected aLDFA up to 24° and AA up to 20°, addressing multiplanar deformities effectively.
- Patient-specific guides allowed for preoperative simulation, providing more stable pin placement and potentially aiding less-experienced surgeons.
- Universal guide eliminated the need for CT-based customization, reducing time and cost.
- Cadaver and bone model trials showed consistent accuracy, validating both methods in vitro and ex vivo.
- No significant differences in outcome when correcting uniplanar (aLDFA) vs biplanar (aLDFA + AA) deformities.
- Universal guide's fixed size presented limitations in small dogs, potentially requiring multiple size options.
- Universal guide showed potential for standard use, offering repeatable outcomes with minimal prep despite needing precise intraoperative placement.
Veterinary and Comparative Orthopaedics and Traumatology
3
2025
Comparing the Accuracy of Patient-Specific Guide and Universal Guide for Distal Femoral Osteotomy in Dogs
2025-3-VCOT-cheon-3
In Dickson 2024 et al., on VATS for feline chylothorax, what was the most common postoperative complication?
🔍 Key Findings
- Objective: To evaluate outcomes and complications of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for idiopathic chylothorax in 15 cats.
- All 15 cats underwent thoracoscopic thoracic duct ligation (TDL); 13 also had simultaneous pericardectomy, 2 had VATS TDL + laparoscopic cisterna chyli ablation (CCA), and 1 cat had an open CCA.
- Median surgical time was 152.5 minutes (range 60–255).
- Contrast was used intraoperatively in 13 cats; 11 received methylene blue, and 2 received indocyanine green (ICG).
- One intraoperative complication (6%) occurred — a minor intercostal artery laceration. Conversion to open surgery occurred in 3 cases (20%) due to visualization issues or bleeding.
- Postoperative complications occurred in 8 cats (53%), with persistent pleural effusion in 5 cats (33%) being the most common.
- Mortality was high: 4 cats (27%) died or were euthanized before discharge. Only 7 of 11 cats discharged had resolution of effusion, and recurrence occurred in 1.
- Authors concluded that while VATS is technically feasible in cats, it did not improve clinical outcomes compared to open surgery, and feline idiopathic chylothorax continues to have a high mortality rate.
Veterinary Surgery
5
2024
Outcome of video-assisted thoracoscopic treatment of idiopathic chylothorax in 15 cats
2024-5-VS-dickson-1
In Scheuermann 2024 et al., on 3D-printed reduction systems, what percentage of dogs in the 3D-MIPO group had near-anatomic or acceptable fracture reductions?
🔍 Key Findings
- The study was a historic case-control trial comparing custom 3D-printed VSP-guided MIPO (3D-MIPO) to conventional MIPO (c-MIPO) in dogs with diaphyseal tibial fractures.
- Surgical time was significantly shorter in the 3D-MIPO group (117 min vs. 151 min; p = .014), and fluoroscopy use was dramatically reduced (11 vs. 37 images; p < .001).
- All 3D-MIPO reductions were acceptable or near-anatomic; 2 c-MIPO dogs had unacceptable reductions.
- Tibial length, frontal, and sagittal alignment post-op were similar between groups; no significant difference in anatomic restoration (p > .1).
- Radiographic union occurred in all dogs by 3 months. Time to union was similar between groups (3D-MIPO: 67 days vs. c-MIPO: 53 days; p = .207).
- Postoperative complication rate was higher in 3D-MIPO (27% vs. 14%), including 2 major infections requiring implant removal.
- 3D-MIPO required more pre-op time (~23 hours longer from presentation to surgery; p = .002), partly due to guide printing/sterilization.
- Improved surgical efficiency and more consistent reductions were noted in the 3D-MIPO group, supporting its clinical utility despite increased pre-op logistics.
Veterinary Surgery
6
2024
Virtual surgical planning and use of a 3D‐printed, patient‐specific reduction system for minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis of diaphyseal tibial fractures in dogs: A historic case control study
2024-6-VS-scheuermann2-3
In McNamara 2022 et al., on transoral endoscopic arytenopexy, what was the mean percentage increase in rima glottis area (RGA) following the TEA procedure?
🔍 Key Findings
- TEA significantly increased the rima glottis area (RGA) from a mean of 0.52 cm³ to 0.78 cm³ (p < .0001)
- Mean RGA increased by 157%, equivalent to an 84% estimated decrease in airway resistance
- LEGS (laryngeal epiglottic-glottic seal) remained intact in all cadavers post-procedure, indicating maintained airway protection
- TEA was technically feasible in all 15 cadaveric dogs using a custom endoscopic gag port (EGP)
- TEA avoids cervical dissection, potentially reducing surgical trauma and risks compared to UAL (unilateral arytenoid lateralization)
- Compared to UAL, TEA showed slightly less RGA increase, but greater LEGS preservation, potentially reducing aspiration risk
- No cartilage was included in sutures; arytenopexy involved soft tissue fixation to pharyngeal wall across the piriform recess
- Cadaver model limitations include inability to assess functional outcomes like swallowing and respiratory motion impact
Veterinary Surgery
7
2022
Description and evaluation of a novel transoral endoscopic arytenopexy in canine cadavers
2022-7-VS-mcnamara-2
In Barrett 2023 et al., on complication grading systems, which grading system demonstrated **greater detail** and less subjectivity in defining complication types?
🔍 Key Findings
- Cook system had good reliability across all cases (ICC = 0.848), even when complications, sequelae, and failure-to-cure were included.
- aCD system had excellent reliability when excluding sequelae/failure-to-cure cases (ICC = 0.975) but only moderate reliability when including them (ICC = 0.620).
- Majority of complications (60–63%) were graded as Grade 3 in the aCD system, corresponding to surgical or anesthetic intervention.
- Cook system classified most cases (78–81%) as major complications.
- Assessors had difficulty distinguishing sequelae from Grade 1 complications, and failure-to-cure from Grades 1–2, reducing aCD reliability.
- The aCD system offers more resolution (5 grades vs. 3) and less subjectivity through objective definitions.
- Novel terminology (e.g., sequelae, failure to cure) in the aCD system may hinder its uptake without proper training.
- Reclassifying expected events (e.g., swelling, bruising) as sequelae could significantly reduce reported complication rates in other studies.
Veterinary Surgery
1
2023
Comparison of two postoperative complication grading systems after treatment of stifle and shoulder instability in 68 dogs
2023-1-VS-barrett-3
In Violini 2024 et al., on 3D-guided spinal stabilization in brachycephalic dogs, what postoperative complication occurred due to PMMA cement overextension?
🔍 Key Findings
- Spinal stabilization with 3D-printed patient-specific drill guides (3D-PSGs) was safe, with no immediate perioperative complications reported.
- 84% of pedicle screws were optimally placed, and only 0.5% breached the spinal canal, reflecting high placement accuracy.
- 80% of dogs experienced no neurologic deterioration postoperatively, indicating reliable short-term safety.
- 3D-PSGs were accurate and reproducible, even across multiple institutions and surgeons.
- Mid-term outcomes were favorable: all dogs were ambulatory, and 90% had static or improved neurologic signs.
- 7 of 10 mid-term follow-ups showed abnormal gait, though owners rated lifestyle ≥3/5, suggesting acceptable function.
- 3D-printed guides enabled precise pedicle screw placement in deformed vertebrae, expanding options in small breeds.
- One dog suffered a T4 spinous process fracture due to overextension of PMMA cement, emphasizing the need for cement placement caution.
Veterinary Surgery
4
2024
Clinical outcomes of 20 brachycephalic dogs with thoracolumbar spinal deformities causing neurological signs treated with spinal stabilization using 3D-printed patient-specific drill guides
2024-4-VS-violini-3
In Butare-Smith 2022 et al., on cerclage knot biomechanics, what was concluded about the clinical use of double-loop cerclage?
🔍 Key Findings
- Double-loop cerclage resisted the highest peak load (805 N) and maintained tension longer than twist (488 N) and single-loop (397 N) configurations.
- Double-loop cerclage sustained 500,000 cycles at 60–80% of peak load in some cases without loosening, outperforming other types.
- Twist knots loosened rapidly, often within 10 cycles even at low loads (100–390 N).
- Single-loop knots performed better than twist, with partial resistance up to 100,000 cycles at 160 N, but showed wide variability.
- All loosening occurred before wire breakage, indicating clinical failure would happen from slack, not fracture.
- Double-loop cerclage had highest initial tension (323 N) compared to single-loop (124 N) and twist (69 N).
- Fatigue limit was not identified for twist, since they all loosened early at even 20% of peak load.
- Clinical recommendation: double-loop cerclage is best for resisting repeated subfailure loading, ideal for fissure prevention or fragment stabilization.
Veterinary Surgery
2
2022
Double-loop cerclage resists greater loads for more cycles than twist and single-loop cerclage
2022-2-VS-butare-smith-5
Quiz Results
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Key Findings