Prevalence of onychectomy in cats presented for veterinary care near Raleigh, NC and educational attitudes toward the procedure (original) (raw)

Comparison of 3 methods of onychectomy

The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne, 2014

The frequency of claw regrowth, bony remnants, and complications in cats that underwent forelimb onychectomy using laser, scalpel, or guillotine techniques were evaluated. Eighty-seven client-owned cats were recruited from 27 veterinary clinics in the Canadian Atlantic provinces. At least 1 year after onychectomy the cats underwent a physical examination, gait analysis, and radiographic evaluation by 1 of 2 authors. There was no significant difference in the frequency of claw regrowth among the 3 methods (P = 0.283). Significantly more cats had bony remnants following guillotine onychectomy (P < 0.001). Bony remnants were significantly associated with claw regrowth (P = 0.001). Cats that underwent laser onychectomy had significantly less post-operative complications (P = 0.023). The long-term outcome was not significantly different among the 3 methods. We conclude that leaving remnants of the third phalanx in situ is associated with an increased frequency of claw regrowth. Laser ...

Attitudes of owners regarding tendonectomy and onychectomy in cats

Journal of the …, 2001

S cratching objects is an inherited normal behavior in cats that is used as a visual and olfactory territorial mark and as a stretching exercise for the forelimbs. 1 Scratching is also a behavior that helps cats interact socially and conditions the claws by removing old, frayed, and loose layers of claw and exposing the new claw underneath. 1,2 Cats may injure people and damage household materials with their claws when scratching for the aforementioned reasons or during playing, jumping, climbing, and displays of aggression. 1-8 Although most undesirable scratching can be prevented or eliminated with environmental manipulation and behavior modification, 1-3 tendonectomy and onychec-tomy are other alternatives for those owners who are unwilling or unable to control the undesirable scratching. 9,10 Bony amputation with a sterile guillotine-type nail trimmer or disarticulation of the distal phalanx with a scalpel blade are the most commonly used methods for onychectomy. 11 Tendonectomy of the tendon of the deep digital flexor muscle of the forelimbs is also commonly performed on cats to prevent use of the claws and the associated property damage and personal injury. 10 Pain, lameness, bleeding, swelling, and dehiscence of the skin incision are the most common complications in cats that undergo these surgeries. 12-14 Tendonectomy has been suggested as an alternative to onychectomy, because it involves fewer signs of pain and fewer complications following surgery. However, tendonectomy makes claws rough, grow excessively, and requires that the owner trim the claws regularly. 9,10 Recently, the merits of the 2 surgical techniques have been debated. 10,15 Jankowski et al 10 found that cats that underwent tendonectomy recovered more quickly according to the owner, and owner satisfaction was similar after onychectomy and tendonectomy. However, to our knowledge, a clinical behavioral study has not been performed to compare owners' attitudes regarding tendonectomy and onychectomy. The purposes of the study reported here were to compare owners' reasons for surgery and changes in the cats' behavior (including use of the paws) following each procedure. We also sought to compare owners' assessment of recovery time, benefits and concerns regarding each surgical procedure, and overall attitude concerning onychectomy and tendonectomy. Materials and Methods Cats-Ninety-eight cats had either a tendonectomy 9 or onychectomy 11 performed at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) of Cornell University between February 1993 and May 1998. Of these, an attempt was made to contact all owners of cats that underwent these surgeries. We obtained information regarding the outcome of surgery from owners of 57 of the 98 (58%) cats. Eighteen of these cats had a tendonectomy and 39 had an onychectomy. Anesthetic and surgical procedures-Cats were examined at least 30 minutes before anesthesia was induced, and heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were recorded. Most cats were medicated with ketamine hydrochloride (5 mg/kg [2.3 mg/lb] of body weight, IM), glycopyrrolate (0.011 mg/kg [0.005 mg/lb], IM), acepromazine (0.07 mg/kg [0.032 mg/lb], IM), and oxymorphone (0.05 mg/kg [0.025 mg/lb], IM) or butorphanol (0.2 mg/kg [0.09 mg/lb], IM). Anesthesia was induced by administration of ketamine (2 mg/kg [0.9 mg/lb], IV) and diazepam (0.5 mg/kg [0.23 mg/lb], IV) or thiopental (10 mg/kg [4.54 mg/lb], IV); anesthesia was maintained with halothane or isoflurane in oxygen. Elective ovariohysterectomy or castration, when per

A Survey of the Common Small Animal Surgical Procedures at A Regional State Veterinary Clinic in Namibia

Alexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 2020

A retrospective study to investigate the nature of surgical cases presented to Katima Mulilo State Veterinary Office in Namibia was conducted on 167 small animals between 2011 and 2016. Overall, significantly more dogs (87.4%) than cats (12.6%) were presented for surgical procedures (p<0.05). Significantly more non-elective (58.7%) than elective (41.3%) procedures were performed (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the proportion of castrations (23.4%) and ovariohysterectomies (18.0%), the two main elective procedures performed during the study period (p>0.05). A greater proportion of male (58.2%) than female dogs (41.8%) were presented for surgical treatment (p<0.05). Significantly more non-elective (65.8%) than elective procedures (34.2%) were performed in dogs (p<0.05; n=146); however, significantly more elective (90.5%) than non-elective procedures (9.5%) were performed in cats (p<0.05; n=21). All the adult cats were presented for elective procedures (n=16). A significantly greater proportion of adult dogs were presented for non-elective (60%) than for elective (40%) procedures (p<0.05). A significantly greater proportion of pure breed dogs were presented for non-elective (71.4%) than for elective (28.6%) procedures (p<0.05; n=14). The results of the study revealed that state veterinarians in rural/semi-urban state offices should better stock their clinics more for dogs than cats. As for dogs, these clinics should be more stocked for bite wounds, castrations, bone fractures and ovariohysterectomies and to prepare for castrations and ovariohysterectomies when they prepare surgical materials for cats.

Surgical procedures in cats in a teaching veterinary hospital

Research, Society and Development, 2022

The aim of this article was to conduct a survey of surgical procedures performed on cats in a teaching veterinary hospital (TVH) for a period of seven months. Qualitative research was carried out, using percentage and numerical frequencies. In a veterinary teaching hospital, 92 cats submitted to surgeries were accompanied, and, 62 were females (67.39%; 62/92) and 30 males (32.61%; 30/92). Of the total cases, 61 were therapeutic surgical procedures (66.30%; 61/92), and 31 were elective surgeries (33.69%; 31/92). Of the elective surgeries, 22 were ovariohysterectomy (70.96%; 22/31) and nine were orchiectomies (29.03%; 9/31). Among therapeutic surgical procedures, the emergency surgeries were majority, representing 48 cases (78.68%; 48/61. The most frequent therapeutic surgery was ovariohysterectomy with 26 occurrences (42.62%; 26/61). The other surgical therapeutic procedures in order of frequency were: desobstruction urethral, fracture reduction, ocular bulb enucleation, incisional hernia correction, rectal prolapse correction and evisceration correction. There were three deaths, all in the postoperative period. The emergencies were highlighted and, among them, the most frequent surgery was ovariohysterectomy due to dystocic parturition, which may be linked to the use of contraceptives. In the veterinary clinical routine, there is a significant increase in feline patients. In this way, it is considered important that the feline species be the object of study in Brazil

Teaching Surgery to the Veterinary Novice: The Ohio State University Experience

Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, 2007

Surgical training in veterinary medicine has evolved rapidly over the past several decades. Catalysts for change include pressure from concerned students and the public to reduce the use of live animals in teaching; less-than-effective preparation of students for live surgery experience; an overall reduction in faculty time and effort devoted to skills training; college budgetary reallocations mandating reductions in expensive group laboratory experiences; and more specialized case-load patterns in clinical rotations, which have reduced students’ exposure to common surgical conditions. In response to these trends, methods for surgery educators to reduce, refine, and replace live animals in surgery training courses at veterinary schools have received broad attention. When these methods are used effectively in a curriculum, it is no longer necessary to sacrifice animals for adequate student training. This article describes a successful and ethical surgical training program used at the...

Evaluation of a First-Year Veterinary Surgical Skills Laboratory: A Retrospective Review

Journal of veterinary medical education, 2019

A retrospective review of the first-year surgical skills competency-based assessment was performed at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) using 6 years of data from 475 students. The cumulative pass rate was 88.2% on first attempt and 99.2% upon remediation. Student gender did not influence overall pass/fail rates, with a failure rate of 11.1% for female students and 10.5% for male students ( p = 0.88). Significantly decreased pass rates were associated with identification of the Mayo scissors (p = 0.03), explanation of using Allis tissue forceps ( p = 0.002), and performance of a Lembert suture pattern ( p < 0.01). An increased pass rate was observed for the cruciate pattern ( p < 0.01). No differences were found in pass/fail rates for hand ties ( p = 0.80) or instrument ties ( p = 0.60). The most common errors occurred in half hitch ties, for both hand ties (53%) and instrument ties (38%). The most common errors were recognized in instrument handling (31%) and ...

Stakeholder expectations regarding the ability of new veterinary graduates to perform various diagnostic and surgical procedures

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2017

OBJECTIVE To assess stakeholders' expectations regarding new veterinary graduates' ability to perform various diagnostic and surgical procedures. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey. SAMPLE Veterinary students, recent graduates, clinical veterinary college faculty, and general practitioners at or from AVMA Council on Education–accredited colleges of veterinary medicine in the United States and Caribbean. PROCEDURES Respondents rated how proficient they expected new graduates, on their first day of practice, to be in 8 diagnostic procedures and the degree of independence they expected of new graduates in 8 surgical procedures. RESULTS Response rate was 9% (235/2,500) for practitioners, 12% (151/1,275) for faculty members, 14% (70/500) for recent graduates, and 15% (1,731/11,474) for students. All 4 respondent subgroups expected that new graduates would be able to adequately perform a fine-needle aspirate of a subcutaneous mass (96% to 98% expected new graduates to be able to adequa...

Veterinary Student Confidence after Practicing with a New Surgical Training Model for Feline Ovariohysterectomy

Journal of Veterinary Medical Education

Lack of confidence and self-efficacy are the main causes of negative emotions experienced by veterinary students when performing surgery. A surgical training model (STM) was developed to test the hypothesis that practical training on an STM before performing live surgery would enhance the students' confidence. In addition, low-cost and easily accessible materials were used for the construction. In the STM, neodymium magnets that were detached if too much traction was applied were used to ensure careful tissue handling during ligation of the ovarian pedicles and cervix. A pilot study was performed to evaluate veterinary undergraduate students' confidence when using the STM before performing their first live feline ovariohysterectomy (OHE) as lead surgeon. The results showed that the students rated their confidence level higher after performing feline OHE if they had practiced with the STM before surgery. Voluntary written comments revealed that live surgery as a learning situ...