Paul Aldridge Surgery & CPD

08/09/2022

After a 3-flight 22-hour journey we’re kicking off the lectures in San Antonio at IVECCS 2022! Big room filling up with an enthusiastic crowd to hear ...

18/08/2022

We’re delighted to announce that Paul Aldridge BVSc CertSAS MRCVS, Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Surgery at Vets Now Manchester, will be involved...

11/05/2022

Positive delegate feedback is always nice to have on the day; but when a delegate thanks you because the practical course you taught last year enabled them to step in (as a recent graduate) and take over from their struggling boss and another experienced colleague, to perform a successful resection and anastomosis on a mesenteric torsion it makes your day.

Teaching Emergency Surgery to 2nd year graduate scheme delegates at Central CPD with Pets at Home Vet Group

03/05/2022

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paul-aldridge-3a94bb34_cpd-veterinarynursing-sutures-activity-6924773135602860032-gWmK?utm_source=linkedin_share&utm_medium=member_desktop_web

Lecturing with CENTRAL CPD LTD today, “Schedule 3; Surgical Skills for Nurses” practical course. Great to chat about all things wound management related...

13/04/2022

Spring is here so that means stick injury season! Link below to a BSAVA Companion review article I’ve just coauthored discussing the indications for, and techniques of cervical surgical exploration in these potentially fatal cases.
Spoiler alert: if there’s radiographic evidence of emphysema it’s time to start cutting!

https://lnkd.in/ebPS37jg

Oropharyngeal injuries are commonly seen in practice. Severity can range from minor to life threatening in the case of dorsal pharyngeal or oesophageal punctures. A prompt diagnosis and early aggressive surgical management may be required to prevent the development of mediastinitis and sepsis. This....

29/03/2021

Feeding tubes Part 2, starting with the basics; naso-oesophageal and naso-gastric. Quick and easy but a short term solution with some limitations

21/03/2021

Kicking off our feeding tube series...... “Don’t wait for your patients to eat when they feel better , they’ll feel better when they eat !” Nutrition is an essential part of any treatment plan but often overlooked in the initial stages of critical patient management.

14/03/2021

It's a year ago today since we were discussing implementation of infection control plans; who knew how relevant that was about to become.....

Enjoying the lovely weather and tranquil surroundings at Brockholes Nature Reserve. Discussing all things infection control and hand hygiene audits 🖐 🤚🤓

14/03/2021

16cm diameter hepatic mass in a 9yo Labrador retriever. Left medial lobectomy performed with an uneventful recovery

10/01/2021

There are several ways to retrieve esophageal foreign bodies in dogs, including blind removal, endoscopic retrieval, fluoroscopic retrieval, and surgical retrieval.

06/01/2021

Gastric dilatation trapped within a congenital diaphragmatic hernia (left crura completely absent). A partial gastrectomy, splenectomy, gastropexy and herniorrhaphy later and we’re good to go! Full recovery made. surgery

20/10/2020

Lovely feedback from last weeks Schedule 3 practical course!

16/10/2020

Early start for today’s CPD, at our 200 acre nature reserve venue. Nurses schedule 3 practical and vets exotics veterinary

04/10/2020

Happy World Animal Day!
Falling on October 4th (the feast day of Francis of Assisi) the mission of World Animal Day is "to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards around the globe.....through increased awareness and education"
Given tomorrow is World Teacher Day, in appreciation of all instructors, seems an important couple of days for KHA to celebrate!

31/08/2020

We're excited to be back and looking forward to our first lectures since lockdown. While the on-line webinars have kept us in touch, its the attended lectures at our unique venue that we've become known for, and we can now offer these while socially distancing.
On 11th September join us for vets Emergency Surgery and for nurses Anaesthesia of the Critical Patient.
We always aim to run concurrent courses that help the team tackle everyday cases: so we'll be covering GDV's in both rooms!

31/08/2020

GDV is a common life threatening surgical emergency, but with prompt thorough stabilisation and a logical approach to surgery the prognosis should be good.
Stabilisation and correcting hypoperfusion prior to the induction of general anaesthesia is vital; goal targeted resuscitation to address obstructive and hypovolaemic shock is key. Gastric decompression via orogastric intubation or needle flank decompression to improve venous return is usually performed alongside IVFT
Surgery itself is straightforward; recognise the direction of rotation (omentum covered fundus = clockwise) therefore appreciate how to de-rotate, assess for viability, full abdom explore, then perform an adequate gastropexy. Simple!
Good luck to everyone working the Bank Holiday emergency shifts in the UK today!
KHA x

14/06/2020

Stick Injuries; a Surgical Emergency?

Pharyngeal and oesophageal puncture wounds can be life threatening due to the consequences of haemorrhage and septic mediastinitis.
Prompt investigation, and if indicated thorough surgical exploration are required to deal with the immediate potentially fatal consequences, and to stop an acute wound becoming a chronic issue.

18/04/2020

Read beyond the headlines when referencing! Buffa et al (1997) is endlessly referenced in veterinary literature as the reason why we must use Hartmann’s/lactated Ringers to lavage our patient’s wounds and avoid the cytotoxicity associated with the use of saline; but have you ever read beyond that?
Would you be surprised to know the authors themselves wrote that this was “… not an ideal model for determining the effects of wound lavage solutions in-vivo” ie in a live animal.
Why? Because the study looked at cultured canine fibroblasts (a single monolayer on glass) in-vitro to assess the cytotoxic effects of lavage fluids. A number of factors are absent from a cell culture compared to a clinical wound; interstitial fluid, exudate, macrophages, neutrophils etc. Fibroblasts migrate into a wound in response to cytokines released by macrophages, so are they a cell that’s even worth assessing for cytotoxicity given their absence in the very early stages on wound healing?
The authors elaborate on the difference between in-vitro and in-vivo studies: “This discrepancy was illustrated adeptly….. 8 patients with post-surgical septic wounds were flushed with non-sterile tap water, all healed”
Buffa et al (1997). The effects of Wound Lavage Solutions on Canine Fibroblasts: An In Vitro Study. 26;460-466 Vet Surgery.
Is it time for a free webinar on wound lavage as part of our free lockdown season? Like the post and comment below, if it’s a popular topic we’ll run it!

14/03/2020

Enjoying the lovely weather and tranquil surroundings at Brockholes Nature Reserve. Discussing all things infection control and hand hygiene audits 🖐 🤚🤓

09/03/2020

Rapid stabilisation and work-up is essential in the acute abdomen. The in-house analysis of abdominal effusion is invaluable in making a diagnosis where free abdominal fluid is present. Using laboratory equipment everyone has available ...... is it surgical? Comparison of abdominal effusion parameters to the same parameter in a concurrent blood sample allows conclusions to be drawn.

02/03/2020

Well, apart from not being able to get hold of surgical masks from your wholesaler, is the human coronavirus going to affect the veterinary world? See what WSAVA have to say....

https://wsava.org/news/highlighted-news/the-new-coronavirus-and-companion-animals-advice-for-wsava-members

Global Veterinary Community

22/02/2020

22/02/2020

Asepsis is the removal of pathogenic microorganisms. Prior to any invasive procedure aseptic skin preparation is performed. Sterility (the absence of all microorganisms) cannot be achieved on skin as the harsh physical or chemical techniques required would cause extensive damage. The initial preparation is outlined here; a basic technique but a meticulous approach must be followed. Small changes make a big difference to efficacy.

16/02/2020

Penrose drains are often used but frequently placed incorrectly. A surgical drain placed and managed correctly can reduce risk factors that could lead to wound breakdown or dehiscence. Placed incorrectly they bring their own set of complications.

09/02/2020

Ventricular premature complexes (VPCs) in the 8yo red setter recovering from GDV surgery. While occasional intermittent VPCs won’t affect cardiac output significantly, close monitoring is required in case sustained runs develop (Ventricular tachycardia) which if occur for long enough (>30 secs) and at a rapid enough rate (>189 bpm) are likely to cause the patient to become symptomatic

08/02/2020

Another unusual GIT case! Follow-up images and diagnosis to come.
Discovered at exploratory laparotomy causing and extra-luminal duodenal obstruction in this 5 mo DSH kitten.
3 week history of vomiting, ultrasound demonstrated fluid filled spherical structure presumed to be intra-luminal foreign body.
What are your Ddx? What are you going to do?! Comment below!

05/02/2020

Poll below!
Have you seen an increase in cases of prolific vomiting in dogs recently? Anecdotally symptoms are reported to be more severe than would be expected in a typical non-specific canine gastroenteritis
Research continues into whether this is seasonal variation in numbers or a specific infectious agent
https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/savsnet/dog_vomiting_potential_outbreak/