| WRR
Home > E-Newsletter: WRR Sanctuary
News > March 2009 > A Great
Day for a Young Duck
 A
Great Day for a Young Duck
by Lynn Cuny, Founder & Executive Director,
and Dr. Megan McAndrew, Veterinarian
Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation (WRR)
Veterinarian Dr. Megan McAndrew recounts a particularly meaningful
day for a young duck — and for her. The downy little
duck came to WRR with at least a foot of fishing line protruding
from his beak. It was impossible to locate the hook externally.
Dr. McAndrew describes the procedures:
Radiographs were taken to identify how far
down the hook had migrated and whether it had perforated his
GI tract. The x-rays showed that the hook had lodged in the
area of his proventriculus (part of the stomach). After trying,
unsuccessfully, to contact various hospitals in the area to
find an endoscope to try to non-invasively remove the hook,
the vet team decided to go ahead and surgically remove the
fish hook and line. This was a new procedure for me, but I
knew the longer we waited, the greater the risk of obstruction
or perforation of his GI tract.
 With
WRR Vet Tech Traci Hanson in charge of monitoring anesthesia
and Clinic Supervisor Petra Franzen assisting, we performed
a (pro)ventriculotomy via left lateral celiotomy (or opening
his stomach through his side). The hook was identified halfway
between his proventriculus and his ventriculus and was deeply
imbedded in the muscular wall of the ventriculus. The line
was easily removed, but wire cutters had to be used to cut
the hook. The barb made easy removal of the hook impossible.
But it was gently located and cut to allow for removal of
the rest of the hook. The musculature was checked for hemorrhage
and the contents of the stomach were flushed and suctioned
to prevent contamination of the abdominal cavity during closing.
Once the organ was closed, water was flushed just below the
incision site to assure a tight closure that would not allow
stomach contents to leak into the abdomen. After closing his
skin, we recovered him.
He woke just about as angry as he went down.
Within an hour he was eating. It would be several days before
we would know whether there would be complications from the
surgery. As the days went on, he continued to remain feisty
when we tried to administer his medications and there were
no signs of the surgical site falling apart. He was soon moved
to a day cage where he befriended two smaller ducklings prior
to their release.
This is truly a great victory for this
little fellow who could not have possibly survived without
the skilled and caring hands of WRR's vet staff.
|
