Week - 2: Tuesday is Surgery day and diabetes

January 30 was a very busy morning. I was able to witness my mentor and the employee's their prep for surgery. Before they interact with the dog they sanitize the surgery area. After that, they prepare the dog before the patient undergoes surgery, The first check for anything that could indicate that the dog is not ready for surgery. Next is shaving the area that they plan to make an incision. Then they put a tube in one of the dog's front legs. Then they give the dog anesthesia through the tube and keep giving it until the dog is fully asleep. 


The first dog to go under surgery was a dog with diabetes that is also blind. The reason she needs surgery was to remove some abnormal tissue from her genitals. The other dog I got to see undergo surgery was an 8-month-old puppy who had some baby teeth that didn't fall and was starting to overlap with the adult teeth. One thing I learned that day is that it takes a while to prep and do surgery. Another thing I got to see was how they tested for diabetes for dogs. They had to take a fecal and urine sample to find if one of the patients who owned a Boston terrier showed any signs for diabetes.  

Picture of an dog's eye that was caused by diabetes.