Preoperative Preparation and Management of Large Animal Surgery

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering preoperative evaluation, laboratory testing, pharmaceutical regulations, animal restraint techniques, and biosecurity protocols for large animal surgery.

Packed Cell Volume (PCV) and Total Protein (TP)

Screening tests easily performed preoperative to guide preanesthesia preparation and intraoperative response to blood loss.

$\gamma$-glutamyl-transferase ($\gamma$-GT)

A specific biochemical test used to assess systemic concerns such as fatty-liver syndrome in cows.

Rumen Fasting

The practice of withholding food for $24$ to $48\text{ hours}$ before surgery to decrease ruminal content, distention, and the risk of aspiration pneumonia.

Withdrawal Times

The period required after pharmaceutical administration before meat or milk can be safely consumed; regulated under AMDUCA.

Lateral Recumbency

A surgical position used for flank and inguinal approaches in large animals.

Dorsal Recumbency

A surgical position used for teat surgery, cranial abdomen access, and cesarean sections.

Sternal Recumbency

A rarely used surgical position typically reserved for nasal or cervical surgery.

$25\text{-cm}$ hairless margin

The recommended distance of hair removal around the surgical site to ensure adequate preparation.

Povidone-iodine (PVP-iodine)

A common disinfectant scrub used for skin preparation, often rinsed with 70\text{%} isopropyl alcohol for procedures lasting longer than $90\text{ minutes}$.

Chlorhexidine gluconate (4\text{%})

A broad-spectrum antimicrobial scrub solution effective against most bacteria, some fungi, and many viruses.

Gore-Tex

A fabric used in surgical gowns that provides durable resistance to bacteria.

Closed-gloving

The preferred technique for donning sterile gloves to avoid contact between the hands and the gown cuffs.

Precontamination Stage

The phase before known contamination where planning focuses on minimizing contamination periods and administering prophylactic antibiotics.

Penicillin

An antibiotic more effective than ceftiofur against $Trueperella pyogenes$ and bovine anaerobic pathogens; often used for surgeries involving the GI or reproductive tracts.

Ceftiofur Sodium (Naxcel)

An antibiotic with no milk withdrawal and a $4\text{-day}$ meat withdrawal at label dosage.

Oxytetracycline

A broad-spectrum bacteriostatic antibiotic that is lipid-soluble but carries a risk of renal failure in dehydrated animals.

Flunixin Meglumine

The only FDA-approved NSAID for pyrexia, endotoxemia, and inflammation in cattle; provides visceral analgesia.

Phenylbutazone

An analgesic illegal for use in female dairy cattle $\geq 20 \text{ months}$ of age due to the potential for blood dyscrasias in humans.

Flight Zone

The safe distance an animal maintains from potential predators; invading this zone causes the animal to move away.

Square Knot

A knot used to join two rope ends or form a loop that does not slip when properly tied.

Bowline Knot

A knot that creates a permanent loop that does not tighten, useful for securing rope around a body, neck, or limb.

Hip Lifters

Mechanical devices applied tightly to the tuber coxae to assist weak cattle in standing.

Point of Balance

Located at the animal's shoulder; the handler stands caudal to this point to impede forward movement while pulling a lead rope.

Nose Tongs

A pincer-type device applied to the nasal septum to exert pressure for head restraint; never to be tied to a fixed object.

Casting

A rope restraint method, such as the use of half-hitches over the back, to force an animal into lateral or dorsal recumbency.

Honda

A noose or pincer-type device used when securing the hind feet of cattle for restraint.

Head Snare

A wire or rope noose placed over the upper jaw behind the tusks to restrain pigs.

Group I Drugs

A class of drugs, such as chloramphenicol and fluoroquinolones, prohibited for extralabel use in any food-producing animal.

Small Ruminant Lentiviruses (CAE/OPP)

Infectious agents in sheep and goats transmitted via colostrum, milk, or horizontal contact.

Scrapie

A reportable disease of sheep and goats requiring permanent identification and ante-mortem testing via rectal mucosa or third eyelid biopsy.