Subject Overview

Introduction

Welcome to “Virtual Veterinary Surgery”. This program has been designed to provide an interactive guide through the surgery component of the DVM3.

The program essentially brings the “surgery into the classroom” and is aimed at providing you with the working knowledge, and help you develop the technical skills which will allow you to get yourself (the surgeon), your patient and any equipment you might need into an appropriately designed surgery to perform a successful surgical procedure.

Course structure

The program covers a number of subject areas including preparation of the surgeon, the patient and the equipment used in standard surgical procedures, as well as the design of the surgical theatre itself and the “surgical etiquette” required within a surgery during a procedure. It will also present the basic surgical instruments, sutures and techniques used in managing surgical wounds.

This information is provided in an image rich environment which is supported by a number of video clips, case studies and reference sources.
The content is divided into a number of Units and then Topics to allow you to study individual segments of the subject more easily.

The course will also include four practical exercises which will provide you with an opportunity to further your understanding and technical skills in basic surgical practices. In preparation for, and during, these exercises, you will be asked to complete a number of tasks. Successful completion of these tasks and completion of an “exit” quiz and the end of each exercise will contribute to the completion of a “Skills Acquisition Checklist”. This checklist, which can be found under “Assessment” will help you chart your progress through the course in regard to both acquisition of knowledge and development of your technical skills which are essential if you are to participate in further surgical training and clinical procedures during your surgical rotations in the Clinic and Hospital, and extramural work.

There are a number of ways in which you can enter and use the program:

  • At the entry page, the image of the theatre set-up and the surgeon can be scanned with the mouse and by clicking over an area of interest, you will be taken directly to content information relating to that area.
  • You can also use the navigation tools on the left side of the screen to directly enter the information and subject content of the program.

By clicking on:

  • Surgeon
  • Patient
  • Equipment or
  • Environment

you will be provided with a pull-down menu for the Units and Topics for the information relating to these.
Information relating to the structure and content of the practical Exercises and Assessment can also be found in the left-hand menu.

An Introduction to Surgical Principles

From a historical perspective, the development of veterinary surgery has essentially paralleled that of human surgical practice, but in some cases has led the way with the use of animal models and disease states often being investigated prior to adoption in the field of human surgery.

Since the beginnings of surgery however, infections of the surgical wound were a common and significant life-threatening complication. There is no such thing as sterile surgery. All surgical wounds are contaminated by bacteria, but not all wounds become infected. It is recognised that a critical level of contamination is required before an infection will result. This level is thought to be around 105 organisms per gram of tissue. Other factors which influence the development of infection include the type of bacteria, resistance of the host and the interaction between the host and bacteria. A more detailed consideration of these factors in relation to the management of wounds will be presented during the course.
The main sources of pathogenic organisms in the operative field are:
            1. the surgical personnel
            2. the patient**
            3. the operating theatre environment
            4. the surgical equipment and implanted materials (biomaterials).

Aseptic technique is a set of techniques and practices designed to prevent or minimise microbiological contamination of the surgery wound.
With the advent of aseptic techniques, the incidence and significance of infections have been significantly reduced, and this program will provide you with a good understanding of the theory and practice of good aseptic technique.

Nowadays, whilst the introduction of aseptic techniques and a number of innovations such as the advent of anaesthetics and analgesics and antibiotics have helped to revolutionize the art and science of surgery, the introduction of a number of principles of surgical techniques are recognized to have had an equally important role in the development of surgery.
Some of the duties of the veterinary surgeon can be summarised as follows:

  • Minimise wounding
  • Optimise the healing conditions

In order to fulfill these duties, you as a surgeon, will need to bring together an understanding of anatomy, physiology, pathology, material science and engineering principles, as well as good technical surgical skills in order to successfully complete most surgical procedures.
This program will introduce you to the surgical principles and techniques which will allow you to develop the skills required to successfully perform a large number of surgical procedures. The use of these principles will also ensure that a good healing response with maintenance of the function of the body is retained.