Post by elnini on Jun 7, 2015 5:02:26 GMT -5
Big Moo was operated on this morning for a right displaced abomasum.
She was so-so about food Friday night, despite being hungry. I gave her sheep nuts in a bucket and she ate them and then went to share the hay. Last night she was kicking at her belly, clearly uncomfortable, very hungry but only mouthing the food.
I brought her back across the road and set her up in the sheep-shelter paddock with hay and chaff and sheep mix, as I thought she might have slipped in the greasy mud and hurt her back.
This morning she had hardly touched the food so I rang the vet (always on a long weekend ...) and he operated straight away.
Her symptoms were : hungry but can't eat, kicking at belly, shuffling around uncomfortably, not dipping when back pinched, no rumen sounds, very fast heart rate, normal temp. Her poop was also weird, pasty texture but runny. Her heart and lungs themselves sounded clear. The big sign was, of course, the ping. The vet let me listen and I could hear the basketball bounce ping really clearly. He was concerned that she was trembling, but I told him she wasn't before he came, and she didn't while he was out going back to the surgery for some stuff, so he put it down to vet-itis.
We operated in the newly refurbished dairy because we had light, something to hold her head, a clean concrete floor and it was out of the wind and rain. Set up some spotlights and a picnic table for his gear, some warm soapy water for post-op washing up and dry towels. He said it was the nicest place he'd ever operated on a cow, most of them being alot colder, wetter and poopier. He as also impressed that she was halter broken and could be held on a lead for the entire exam, including a rectal. During which he announced she was 3-4 months pregnant, meaning Taurus the jersey bull (now in my freezer) managed to do the job. Anyone know what the chances are of her keeping the calf through this ?
He had some trouble getting the abomasum back in place because it was full of gas, but he used a needle and line from an intravenous set, piercing the abomasum with the needle and the stuff that vented coming out the end of the line rather than venting inside the abdominal cavity. Once the gas was out it seemed to set in place and he stitched the omentum (I think) to make it stay there. He says there is a 15% chance of recurring, but that 15% recurrence seems to be less likely just after surgery and more likely down the track if the adhesion breaks down.
So, she has LA200 and metacam on board and is back in her paddock (op was done with ketamine and a local) and is still not showing much interest in food, but is standing and alert. I really hope she has eaten by morning. I have to give another 30ml of LA200 in three days. He didn't put a drain in.
Anyone with any experience with this, hints or comments ? dunderi took some pics, and she may post them later.
There were half a dozen pieces of bread in the feed tub of the headbail when the operation started. Leftover from another cow excercise yesterday. There weren't at the end of the op. At least she has eaten those !
She was so-so about food Friday night, despite being hungry. I gave her sheep nuts in a bucket and she ate them and then went to share the hay. Last night she was kicking at her belly, clearly uncomfortable, very hungry but only mouthing the food.
I brought her back across the road and set her up in the sheep-shelter paddock with hay and chaff and sheep mix, as I thought she might have slipped in the greasy mud and hurt her back.
This morning she had hardly touched the food so I rang the vet (always on a long weekend ...) and he operated straight away.
Her symptoms were : hungry but can't eat, kicking at belly, shuffling around uncomfortably, not dipping when back pinched, no rumen sounds, very fast heart rate, normal temp. Her poop was also weird, pasty texture but runny. Her heart and lungs themselves sounded clear. The big sign was, of course, the ping. The vet let me listen and I could hear the basketball bounce ping really clearly. He was concerned that she was trembling, but I told him she wasn't before he came, and she didn't while he was out going back to the surgery for some stuff, so he put it down to vet-itis.
We operated in the newly refurbished dairy because we had light, something to hold her head, a clean concrete floor and it was out of the wind and rain. Set up some spotlights and a picnic table for his gear, some warm soapy water for post-op washing up and dry towels. He said it was the nicest place he'd ever operated on a cow, most of them being alot colder, wetter and poopier. He as also impressed that she was halter broken and could be held on a lead for the entire exam, including a rectal. During which he announced she was 3-4 months pregnant, meaning Taurus the jersey bull (now in my freezer) managed to do the job. Anyone know what the chances are of her keeping the calf through this ?
He had some trouble getting the abomasum back in place because it was full of gas, but he used a needle and line from an intravenous set, piercing the abomasum with the needle and the stuff that vented coming out the end of the line rather than venting inside the abdominal cavity. Once the gas was out it seemed to set in place and he stitched the omentum (I think) to make it stay there. He says there is a 15% chance of recurring, but that 15% recurrence seems to be less likely just after surgery and more likely down the track if the adhesion breaks down.
So, she has LA200 and metacam on board and is back in her paddock (op was done with ketamine and a local) and is still not showing much interest in food, but is standing and alert. I really hope she has eaten by morning. I have to give another 30ml of LA200 in three days. He didn't put a drain in.
Anyone with any experience with this, hints or comments ? dunderi took some pics, and she may post them later.
There were half a dozen pieces of bread in the feed tub of the headbail when the operation started. Leftover from another cow excercise yesterday. There weren't at the end of the op. At least she has eaten those !