Harry W. Boothe, DVM, MS, DACVS

Surgical implications of the following conditions are discussed: pulmonary neoplasia, spontaneous pneumothorax, and pyothorax. Pulmonary lobectomy (partial and complete) and postoperative management recommendations are included.

The choice of surgical approach depends largely on the type of access needed for the thoracic surgery. Intercostal thoracotomy and median sternotomy are the two most commonly performed approaches in small animals. Be certain to clip and prepare a large enough area to anticipate placement of a thoracostomy tube and the potential need to extend the incision.

Complications associated with intestinal surgical procedures can be reduced by attentiveness to the principles of intestinal surgery and appropriate use of ancillary procedures such as serosal patching.

Disorders of the upper airway occur commonly in brachycephalic breeds of dogs. Chief client complaints include excessive respiratory noise, reduced exercise tolerance, heat intolerance, and dyspnea.

Intestinal resection and anastomosis is a relatively commonly performed surgical procedure in small animals. Observing surgical principles and utilizing selected ancillary techniques help to reduce complications.

Surgical procedures performed on the spleen include biopsy, partial splenectomy, and total splenectomy. Techniques employed for each procedure varies with the clinical presentation and, to some degree, surgeon preference. Splenic disease represents an important source of morbidity and mortality in aging dogs.

Biopsy and histologic examination should be a part of essentially every exploratory laparotomy in which a direct surgical diagnosis cannot be reached. Relying on gross evaluation and interpretation alone during an exploratory laparotomy will assure that a correct definitive diagnosis will not be reached in some cases.

The liver, the largest gland in the body, is divided into six lobes (from a surgical perspective): left lateral, left medial, right lateral, right medial, quadrate, and caudate lobes. The caudate lobe has two processes - papillary and caudate. Biopsy of the liver is frequently performed during exploratory laparotomy.