All Sewn Up

Alright, now we are getting to the interesting part. Being a veterinarian assistant means assisting him in surgeries. I've already gotten to see a wide variety of health issues and procedures in the short time that I have been a veterinarian assistant.

The majority of the surgeries performed are actually spays and neuters (the removal of sex organs). All small animals get spayed or neutered unless they are used by breeders to breed puppies to be sold or if someone doesn't want to pay for the surgery. It is such a hassle when they a female dog or car will go into heat and get their period, or a male dog or cat will go into heat and look for any female to mate with.

Two weeks ago, I was actually working as a kennel tech when the clinic was closed. My boss texted me that Dr. Brown had to come in to perform an emergency C-section because a dog went into labor a few days early. Dr. Brown arrived and said he wanted my help! I was going to help deliver puppies! A pitbull walked in with breasts the size of grapefruits drooping along the ground. We put the gas mask on the dog to make him very out of it before we inserted the ET tube into her trachea to make her completely unconscious. I hooked her up to the heart and breathing monitor while Gina, the lead veterinarian technician, prepped the dog for surgery. Finally, Dr. Brown was able to cut into the dog. He pulled out the dog's enormous Fallopian tubes. They were almost as wide in diameter as a plastic water bottle! He carefully sliced the end and pulled out the first puppy out of the tube. It was dripping in fluids. This puppy was followed by 4 more. Dr. Brown's daughter, the breeder, Gina, Seth, and I each took a puppy and sucked the fluids out of each dogs throat and nose so they could breathe. We carefully swung them up and down to get all of the fluid out of their lungs. After all the fluids were sucked out, we had to shake them away. They were currently unconscious because of the anesthesia the mother was inhaling. Dr. Brown told us to shake them until they screamed; then you would know they were alive and well.

I helped bring life into this world!

Surgeries can be very dangerous because the animals internal organs are being exposed to all of the germs outside. The skin is a very beneficial protectant against a lot of the germ around us. This is why everything that touches the animal during surgery needs to be sterile, so that no germs can be contaminated from the tools to the animal's body. Face masks and hair nets also have to be worn to prevent the spread of germs from our breath or our hair falling out onto the dog.

In the end, surgeries can improve health issues or various other concerns. The dogs health could be worth all of the risks that come with surgery.