Y2S2 Week 16: Orthopedics, Mad Cow Disease, and Churro's Gotcha Day!
- Izzy Pulido
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
This week started off with a quick whirl around the park with Churro followed by the second exam of the block. We had an hour break before the morning lectures, so I went to the gym and did a little strength training. The rest of the morning was filled with lectures centered around orthopedic surgery. Since we are in the clinical foundations block, we are getting exposed to a lot of different surgical disciplines so the whole week was focused on orthopedics. During lunch we had a VBMA lunch talk on nonclinical careers in veterinary medicine. While most of us are planning to go into clinical practice, it was interesting to hear about the other options and paths that people take within this profession. Some of these jobs include industry representatives, pet insurance representatives, and consulting for pet product industries. The rest of the afternoon included three more lectures on orthopedic principles and fracture fixation.
After all the lectures were over, I had time to run home and spend some time with Churro before heading back to the undergraduate campus to teach them about One Health and the environmental factors that impact veterinary medicine. Last week we touched on zoonotic diseases and so as a little follow-up I also gave them a mini lecture on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE or "Mad Cow Disease") and how it can impact people (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease). I enjoy educating people about this disease because my grandmother passed away from this disease a little over 20 years ago. It is extremely rare, and most people don’t know much about it.
Here is a little information on BSE:
BSE is a progressive neurologic disease of cows and is caused by a misfolded protein called a prion. This prion is the culprit in this disease and wreaks havoc on the brain and CNS. Since this protein was originally “normal” the cow’s immune system is unable to recognize the malignant prion and therefore cannot fight off the disease. The most common sign of BSE is incoordination, trouble walking, and getting up hence the nickname “Mad Cow Disease”. The neurologic issues associated with this disease are due to the prion multiplying in the brain. This prion multiplication instigates benign proteins causing them to fold into abnormal shapes. The accumulation of prion proteins destroys the neurons leading to a brain with a “spongy” appearance.
Crazy enough, it usually takes four to six years from the time a cow is infected with the prion to when the first symptoms appear. During the incubation period, there is no way to tell that a cow has BSE but as soon as symptoms appear the cow quickly declines in about 2 weeks to 6 months. Cows contract BSE by eating contaminated feed with parts that came from a cow infected with BSE. Humans can get a version of BSE called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. As of 2019, 232 people worldwide are know to have become sick with vCJD and unfortunately, all of them have died. It is thought that they contracted this disease from eating food made from cows sick with BSE and most of these cases have some connection to the UK (where my grandma grew up). While this disease is rare, it is an important example of how animal health directly impacts human health and emphasizes the importance of understanding One Health principles.
Tuesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a hot yoga session. We then had a lecture on diaphysial fracture repair followed by a clinical pathology discussion. This discussion built off the information we had reviewed last week and incorporated some new material that was focused on muscle and bone injury. The morning wrapped up with a short lecture on bandaging to help get everyone on the same page for the lab in the afternoon.
During lunch Dr. Bannasch gave an awesome presentation about the AKC and different dog breed / genetic traits. Dr. Bannasch has been showing dogs for over 40 years and is also an amazing veterinary geneticist. It was awesome to learn more about the things that go into AKC regulations and how they are focused on ethical breeding and maintaining different breed standards.
That afternoon we had a bandaging and casting lab. We were split into pairs and had the opportunity to work through different bandage applications. We did the Robert-Jones and Modified Robert-Jones bandages on a model and then got to cast each other. It was fun to practice these techniques and get feedback from all of the wonderful surgeons. The rest of Tuesday afternoon included a walk with Churro and some studying.
Wednesday morning started off with a quick run with Churro followed by a clinical pathology journal club discussion. We went over two articles; one on the value of juvenile clinical pathology ranges and another on classifying anemias. It is always great practice to go through different scientific papers and learn how to critically analyze them. The rest of the morning consisted of a lecture on metaphyseal and physeal fractures, arthrodesis and the postoperative care of the surgical patient. It was interesting to learn about the recovery recommendations and rehabilitation associated with different types of fracture repairs.
The rest of the afternoon included a radiology discussion on orthopedic cases. This was a great way to practice using the information and terminology that we had learned over the past few days and apply it to real cases. The rest of the afternoon involved a quick swim at the rec pool followed by a walk with Churro.
Thursday started off with another radiology discussion but this time we also had an orthopedic surgeon present, and we were looking at fractures that had healing complications. The goal of this session was to first assess the fracture repairs from a radiological standpoint and then discuss the potential complication. This helped cement earlier lecture concepts as well as practice identifying abnormalities in fracture healing. After that session we transitioned into an ethics discussion related to surgical complications. We were given a case and had some time to discuss it within our assigned small group. We then met back as a full class and walked through the case and how things could have been handled better along with the potential consequences associated with this mistake. I thought that this session was valuable because at the end of the day, mistakes are inevitable, and it is crucial to know how to handle it in an appropriate and professional manner.
During lunch I took another quick gym break and did some strength training. The rest of the afternoon included a lecture on premedication and sedation. This was a slight introduction into next week’s material on anesthesia. The rest of the afternoon included some quality time with Churro followed by some studying.
Friday morning started off with a nice 8 mile run with Churro followed by an orthopedic jeopardy review game. This game was created by our awesome faculty as a way to review for the upcoming exam and clarify any sticky concepts. Lunch was spent in a journal club meeting lead by the wonderful Dr. Jandrey where we discussed the efficacy of clopidogrel and rivaroxaban as single agent therapies in preventing recurrence of arterial thromboembolism in cats recovering from cardiogenic arterial thromboembolism. If you are interested, the paper can be found here. Spoiler alert, both drugs were seen to be efficacious when given appropriately. The study size was small and at the end of the day, the cat's prognosis after having an arterial thromboembolism oftentimes comes down to the owner's resources.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reviewing some material for the comprehensive year 2 exam that is happening at the end of this month. I also got to hang out with some awesome horses, check on Diamond the chicken that was attacked by the dog last week, and go for a swim. The rest of the evening was spent studying and hanging out with Churro.
Saturday morning started off with a 4 miler with Churro followed by a hot Pilates and swim session. I then went to the farmers market to get some fresh produce before heading home to get some studying done. It was also Churro’s rescue anniversary, so I took him to the pet store where he got to pick out his favorite toys and then he also got a special snack. Four years ago, I brought him back from Tijuana during a rescue trip and ever since then he has been my adventure buddy. One sporadic decision turned into being one of the biggest blessings in my life and I can't imagine life without him.
Sunday started out with a 5 miler with Churro followed by church. I then did some grocery shopping before heading back home to study for the upcoming exam. The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out with Churro, meal prepping, and getting ready for the upcoming week!
Quote of the week: “What do you do if you want perfect? You look at yourself in the mirror.” -Dr. Po-Yen Chou
Comentarios