I have reached the halfway point of my internship and I’m sad to say it has gone by fast. This week I worked with two different samples of cartilage and both tests ran smoothly. While running the tests I have learned more about the mechanical engineering side of this research; such as the reasoning for cartilage being a viscoelastic solid and the different types of mechanical forces being applied to the cartilage. From here we are finding the force that produces the lowest coefficient of friction. Slowly but surely progress is being made and hopefully, by the end of my time here, I will have more conclusions about the study. It has also been an exciting week at the clinic starting with a paracentesis on a patient that was eight days post op from colic surgery. The fluid retrieved from the abdomen came back positive for septic peritonitis; from here, an abdominal drain was placed to free the infected fluid. Along with the drain, the abdominal cavity was lavaged with 10 litters of saline twice a day. Then the horse’s condition only worsened when she developed thrombosis and the only way to give her intro veins fluids was through her lateral thoracic artery. In addition, we gave her intro veins plasma transfer to help boost her protein level and speed up the healing process.
Sadly, her condition worsened with her creatinine levels at 2.7 (1.4 above normal limits) and albumin levels at 0.25 (3.25 below normal levels) both show signs of kidney failure. Later that day, the horse was euthanized and a necropsy report showed unrepairable damage to kidneys and small intestines.
Another case I worked on this week was a three-week-old foal with a septic right tarsal joint, a salmonella positive physitis in the right carpal joint, omphalitis, communicating carpal tenosynovitis of extender carpi radials tendon, and common digital extender tendon. In order to treat all of this regional limb perfusions are performed every other day, where the joints are lavaged and injected with an antibiotic (amikacin). To finish things off the foal is on a heavy dose of chloramphenicol (an antibiotic). The reason for the deceit injection of the antibiotic into the regionalized joint is due to the poor diffusion of oral antibiotics into the synovial capsule. Yet the foal still receives oral antibiotics to help with the omphalitis. Another great procedure I observed this week was the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma. In order to remove the reaming cancer cells, cyro-therapy was used in the form of liquid nitrogen to freeze the remaining cells off. Lastly, I observed a castration of a very unhappy donkey. I am excited about what I’m learning and can’t wait to see what next week brings.
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