A 2-Day Practical Surgical Course

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Soft tissue surgery is an essential part of everyday small animal practice, yet many procedures can be challenging without sufficient experience. This 2-day STT 1 practical course is designed for veterinary surgeons with basic surgical experience who want to build confidence in soft tissue surgery, skin reconstruction and abdominal procedures.

The course covers suturing and tension-relieving techniques, reconstructive skin flaps, abdominal exploration, biopsy techniques, gastrointestinal surgery, intestinal anastomosis, omentalisation, serosal patching, cystotomy and feeding tube placement.

2 days | Intensive practical training | Small groups | Supervised surgery

With short theoretical introductions followed by extensive hands-on practice, participants will develop practical surgical skills, learn when to use different techniques and gain confidence in avoiding common complications.

Jackie Demetriou, BVetMed, CertSAS, DipECVS, FRCVS

Jackie Demetriou is an EBVS and RCVS Specialist in Small Animal Surgery and a Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. She qualified from the Royal Veterinary College in London in 1996 and went on to complete an internship and residency in Small Animal Surgery at the University of Edinburgh. Over the past 20 years, she has worked in both academia and specialist referral practice, including nine years as a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and her current part-time Chair in Small Animal Soft Tissue Surgery at the University of Nottingham. She also spent 12 years in private referral practice, where she led a large soft tissue surgery team and ECVS residency programme. Jackie has extensive experience teaching surgery to veterinary surgeons, interns and residents in the UK and internationally, and particularly enjoys helping practitioners develop the confidence to manage challenging surgical cases. She has served on the ECVS Examination Committee and Board of Regents and is the author of two textbooks, several book chapters and more than 30 peer-reviewed publications.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• By the end of the course, participants should be able to:
• Apply the principles of atraumatic tissue handling and good surgical technique.
• Select appropriate suture materials and suture patterns for different tissues and situations.
• Recognise situations where primary wound closure may create excessive tension.
• Use undermining, relaxing incisions and advancement techniques to achieve more effective wound closure.
• Plan and perform basic reconstructive skin flaps.
• Perform V-to-Y advancement, advancement, bipedicle advancement and transposition flaps.
• Understand the design and practical application of the caudal superficial epigastric flap.
• Perform a systematic abdominal exploration.
• Obtain appropriate surgical biopsies from commonly encountered abdominal organs.
• Perform liver, gastrointestinal, lymph node, kidney, pancreas and bladder biopsy techniques.
• Perform enterotomy and enterectomy safely.
• Perform an end-to-end intestinal anastomosis.
• Understand the principles and practical application of omentalisation and serosal patching.
• Perform cystotomy and appropriate bladder closure.
• Place oesophagostomy and gastrostomy feeding tubes.
• Recognise potential complications associated with these procedures and understand how to minimise them.

COURSE TIMETABLE

DAY 1

Suturing, Wound Management & Skin Reconstruction

• Surgical principles – Atraumatic tissue handling – Surgical planning – Suture materials and selection – Principles of wound healing – Dead space and tension management
• Suturing techniques – practical – Basic and commonly used suture patterns – Interrupted and continuous patterns – Appositional closure – Tension-relieving techniques – Practical exercises
• Wound reconstruction – Assessment of skin defects – Undermining – V-to-Y advancement – Single and multiple relaxing incisions – Practical application
• Advancement & bipedicle flaps – practical – Flap planning – Principles of blood supply – Advancement flap – Bipedicle advancement flap – Practical flap creation
• Transposition & caudal superficial epigastric flaps – When to choose a transposition flap – Flap design and planning – Transposition flap – Caudal superficial epigastric flap – Practical reconstruction
• Day 1 review – Common mistakes – Complications – Choosing the appropriate reconstructive technique

DAY 2

Abdominal, Gastrointestinal & Urinary Surgery

• Abdominal exploration – Surgical approach to the abdomen – Systematic abdominal exploration – Assessment of abdominal organs – Surgical decision-making and sampling
• Biopsy techniques – practical – Liver biopsy – Gastrointestinal biopsy – Lymph node biopsy – Kidney biopsy – Pancreatic biopsy – Bladder biopsy
• Gastrointestinal surgery I – practical – Assessment of intestinal viability – Enterotomy – Enterectomy – Principles of intestinal closure
• Gastrointestinal surgery II – practical – End-to-end intestinal anastomosis – Omentalisation – Serosal patch – Avoiding common complications – Practical surgical exercises
• Urinary surgery – practical – Cystotomy – Bladder exploration – Stone retrieval – Principles of bladder closure – Avoiding postoperative complications
• Feeding tube placement – practical – Indications for enteral feeding – Oesophagostomy tube placement – Gastrostomy tube placement – Tube management and potential complications
• Final review & discussion – Putting the techniques into clinical practice – Case-based discussion – Common surgical pitfalls – Questions and discussion