Avian gastrointestinal surgery

Surgical removal of a ventricular foreign body from a common myna (Acridotheres tristis): a case report

“…Although ventriculotomy is generally avoided, in view of the highly muscular walls (the physiological muscular activity can pull sutures out of the tissue) and the inability to form an inversion closure (Forbes, 2002), because of the nature of the foreign body and available tools, a ventriculotomy was performed.…”

“…The bird was not intubated because of the increased risk of blockage of the small-diameter tubes by respiratory secretions (Forbes, 2002). Minimizing the area of feather removal, while still allowing intraoperative control of sepsis (Forbes, 2002), is beneficial in the control of intraoperative or postoperative hypothermia, so only 1 cm around the incision site was removed. Moreover, heat from a heating pad was used to prevent hypothermia.…”

Ventriculotomy for the removal of a foreign body in a common myna (Acridotheres tristis): a case report

“…This profoundly reduces the effectiveness of inhalant anaesthesia while fostering intraoperative heat loss; under these conditions parenteral anaesthesia is indicated (Forbes 2002). When administered parenterally, the combination of ketamine (100 mg/ml) and xylazine (20 mg/ml) enhances muscle relaxation and analgesia and reduces the incidence of stormy recoveries observed in some avian species compared to cases in which ketamine is administered alone.…”

“…Ventriculotomy is generally avoided, due to highly muscular walls (the physiological muscular activity can pull the sutures out of the tissue), the inability to form an inversion closure, and the increased vascularity compared with the proventriculus (Bush and Kennedy 1978;Forbes 2002). However, in our experience these factors are not as important in the myna as is likely to be the case in the pigeon, as our report shows that ventriculotomy is useful for the removal of foreign bodies from this species.…”

“…An incision was made in the left abdominal air sac and was extended cranially and slightly caudally. The ventriculus was observed and packed with povidone solution-moistened sterile gauze to minimise the effect of leakage (Harrison and Harrison 1986;Forbes 2002). An initial stab incision was made and extended with scissors.…”