Recognizing dystocia and the need for emergency surgery

In an exclusive interview with dvm360, Andrea Pace, CVT, VTS (ECC), training mentor for the emergency department at Mount Laurel Animal Hospital in New Jersey, talked about dystocia, and when and why it can be critical to operate. She covered unexpected circumstances, like an unknown past injury that could impede the mother's labor, and why it's important to remain aware of these possibilities.

In addition to dystocia, Pace discussed emergency surgery tips for technicians, specifically when faced with gastric dilatation volvulus (GDV), in her session, "Emergency Surgeries: What a Vet Tech Needs to Know from the ER to the OR," at the recent Fetch dvm360 Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.¹

Below is a partial transcript of the video

Andrea Pace, CVT, VTS (ECC): Sometimes we'll have [a] mom just getting very sick...and not being able to really continue with the labor process naturally. So, it can be a ton of different problems. Sometimes it's something that you're not even expecting, like, maybe there's some history of trauma, and she broke her pelvis 5 years ago, and now is trying to give birth and can't get the baby past whatever injury she may have had.

So, any time that this labor is really prolonged, the babies start to get distressed, and once the babies get distressed, it really limits their ability to survive. So getting the babies out of mom and getting mom into surgery in a timely manner is really essential. Hopefully most people have had some prenatal care for their dogs. Mostly it's dogs, sometimes it is cats, but hopefully some prenatal care will give them that education to know what to look for and when to worry.

Reference

1. Littrell A. Emergency surgery for gastric dilatation volvulus. dvm360. October 17, 2024. Accessed October 21, 2024. https://www.dvm360.com/view/emergency-surgery-for-gastric-dilatation-volvulus