When Annelise and I bought our first house in Berkshire several years ago, we were understandably keen to put our stamp on it and so within a few weeks I had decided to tile the floor in the hallway. When one does any DIY job for the first time, it always takes twice as long and normally results in some problem solving (aka botching) as you try and work around the beginners errors that no experienced tradesperson would make. It also requires a fair bit of research to get to the top of the learning curve – in my case it took the form of internet blogs, youtube videos and even a good old hard back book on DIY! Despite all this I was quite pleased with the finished article. However, having focused so much on tiling, I found myself obsessed by it for the following few weeks. I couldn’t go into a public toilet without inspecting the grouting, I critiqued the tile pattern in a friend’s kitchen and marvelled at the edging strip they had used in a shopping centre. It wasn’t until I tried to put a vinyl floor down in the bathroom that I could move on!
Unfortunately, I am now suffering a similar problem as a result of our imminent move into what was the Barclays bank in Henfield high street. I find myself lying awake at night thinking about drainage, socket locations or car-park layouts
As part of the move we have taken the opportunity to invest in a variety of new equipment. One set of equipment is laparoscopy which allows us to perform “keyhole surgery”, including “keyhole” or laparoscopic bitch spays. Laparoscopic spays have become much more popular and accessible in recent years and so we are pleased that we can now offer them at the practice. Rather than a larger, midline, incision, laparoscopic spays are performed via two or three smaller incisions. A camera and the laparoscopic instruments are then passed through ports in the incisions and abdominal cavity can be viewed via a monitor.
The advantages of keyhole spays are:
· A reduction in discomfort post operatively as a result of a minimally invasive procedure and smaller surgical cuts - most dogs are completely normal the following day.
· Fewer / no sutures.
· A faster return to normal activity due to a reduction in scar tissue formation and a reduction in post-operative pain. While we do advise to reduce exercise until the wounds have healed, 20-30 minutes lead walks are acceptable the day after the procedure.
Laparoscopy can also be used for other procedures such as cryptorchid (retained testicle) castration, gastropexy in large breed dogs to prevent gastric torsion (GDV) and to obtain biopsies from abdominal organs, such as the liver, via a minimally invasive route. It’s very useful equipment!
If you are interested in a laparoscopic spay, or would like more information, please contact us at the surgery. We are currently offering service at our branch in Partridge Green initially, although we will move the equipment to our new Henfield branch when building is complete. On that subject, I would like to reassure people that we will have a private car-park to the rear of the building and that we will continue to run our Practice in Partridge Green. We are really looking forward to being part of the Henfield High Street and becoming even more involved in local events. Having the Christmas tree outside our front door should be especially fun!
We are aiming to open Mid-November and will have an open day so that any one who is interested can have a look around. More information on that to follow, but we hope to see you there!
