Vet Student at Košice

A dog attack victim came in as an emergency today - a lab cross attacked by 3 bully type dogs. The back of the dog was partially degloved, and the throat was ripped to shreds. It was amazing to visualise the trachea and the jugular. The wound spans 180 degrees of the patient's torso The ventral neck wound, showing the jugular and the hole in the trachea. First the wounds were flushed and cleaned with sterile saline and swabs. The surgeon sutured up the hole in the trachea (I was in charge of moving the ET tube to ensure it hadn't been accidentally sewn to the dog). Then, the wounds were packed with saline-soaked sterile swabs, and the wound was approximated with 0PDS. The plan is to redo this every day for the next few days before going in surgically and removing the expected necrotic tissue. I'm excited to follow this case through, and I really hope this poor dog makes it. 

I saw my first ever tracheotomy today. Fortunately it was a non-emergent situation, and the surgeon doing it took his time to slowly dissect each layer. When they removed the endo-tracheal tube I got to inject a bit of propofol to keep the dog asleep (under the direct and constant supervision of a vet!) because the trach tube wasn't cuffed, and we couldn't use isoflurane. A dog came in yesterday because the owners thought he had a testicular tumour. Turns out, it wasn't a tumour. He just has one very small testicle and one regular sized one.

A rabbit came into work today for a CT and possible forelimb amputation. Unfortunately, the CT showed extensive metastatic disease, so the surgery was aborted. Still, it was very interesting to watch a rabbit anasthesia as this is not something I get to see very often! Last Friday, an emergency came in - a dog with pericardial effusion. We drained 200ml from around his heart, and immediately we noticed an improvement in his vitals and demeanor. Today, he came back in for a recheck and he was the brightest, happiest and cuddliest dog. It's likely he has a poor prognosis as we don't know for sure what caused the initial effusion, but I'm glad that he's happy in the time he has. 

I recently applied for the 4 year post BSc General Veterinary Medicine course at the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmac y in  Košice. I have yet to hear back and I am a bundle of nerves and anxiety.  I have wanted to be a vet ever since I was a wee babby. I sort of lost my way academically after GCSE's and ended up leaving 6th form with less than ideal results. I still got into university, where I studied Biology. I wasn't particularly dedicated, and again ended up with results I'm not particularly happy with. In my second year, I did a work based learning placement at a dog rescue shelter which really cemented in my mind that I wanted to work with animals.  After graduation I landed a fantastically engaging, fast paced job at a referral veterinary practice in Surrey. In the year and a half I've worked there, I have learnt an incredible amount and I am so thankful for that. In my opinion, best bit of the job is being on call, and getting to watch surgerie