OVC Update Series - Lifelearn

The Ontario Veterinary College invites you to come to the 'Source' for the latest updates in Small Animal Medicine and Surgery. Keep current on the newest medical and surgical knowledge and procedures. Keep up-to-date on current research topics and see the new and projected facilities. Tour the hospital to view the latest equipment that is being used at the teaching hospital. You will also have the opportunity to meet the faculty you will be referring your cases to.

The Update Series will occur three times per annum (February/June/October) and the day will end with a panel discussion on the various topics presented. This is your opportunity to ask questions that are relevant to your practice or you may share your experiences with a given topic.

Start your weekend off right by attending the Peter Appleyard dinner and concert fund raiser for the Intensive Care Unit (email – cleoconcert@sympatico.ca or call 519•826•0848) followed by a day of worthwhile topics that will complement your knowledge.

October 4, 2008 - The Critical Patient (Critical Care/Small Animal Surgery/Small Animal Medicine/Radiology/Cardiology/Anesthesiology)
February 28, 2009 - Potpourri (Ophthalmology/Dentistry/Avian & Exotic/Dermatology/Neurology/Behaviour/Panel Discussion)
June 13, 2009 - The Patient with Cancer (Cytopathology/Surgical Oncology/Medical Oncology/What's New in Treatment of Cancer/Panel Discussion)

9:00 AM – Critical Care (Triage of the Emergency Patient)
The critical patient requires quick assessment of the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This lecture will present an overview of triage and fluid resuscitation for the shocky, hypovolemic, or hypotensive patient. Crystalloids, colloids and hypertonic saline will be reviewed along with their indications, contra-indications and recommendations for their use. The lecture will also discuss the triggers for transfusion therapy, and the clinical need or utility of plasma and red cell products. The end-points of fluid resuscitation will also be addressed.

Alexa Bersenas DVM DACVECC
Assistant Professor – Emergency Medicine and Critical Care
Areas of Interest
Transfusion medicine, respiratory disease and ventilation, sepsis and coagulation, and gastric acid production and inhibition

10:00 AM – Small Animal Surgery – Tracheal Collapse and intraluminal tracheal stenting
Tracheal collapse is a progressive, degenerative disease that can lead to acute respiratory compromise requiring emergency treatment. The presenting signs, initial case management and diagnostic measures will be discussed. Medical and/or surgical treatment is often necessary for long-term management of tracheal collapse. These will be presented along with a newer, minimally invasive option for palliation of tracheal collapse in dogs.

Brigitte A. Brisson DMV DVSc DACVS
Associate Professor and Chief – Small Animal Surgery – Graduate Faculty
Areas of Interest
Neurosurgery, minimally invasive surgery, cardiovascular surgery and reperfusion injury

11:00 AM – Small Animal Medicine – What’s New in Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia?
Immune mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) arises when the immune system targets and destroys erythrocytes. The diagnosis of IMHA is often complex. Additionally, practitioners are presented with many immunosuppressive therapy options to help treat these challenging diseases and their potential complications.

The recommended diagnostic criteria for making a diagnosis of IMHA will be presented. Primarily, this discussion will focus on the pros and cons of available immunosuppressive drug choices – including prednisone, cyclosporine, and azathioprine. Novel therapies such as human intravenous immunoglobulin and liposomal clodronate will also be presented. Recommendations from recent literature and experience from the OVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital on how to treat these cases in the acute and chronic phases will be discussed, with particular emphasis on how to combine drug therapies and how to eventually taper treatment.

Shauna Blois DVM ACVIM
Assistant Professor – Small Animal Medicine
Areas of Interest
Autoimmune disease and endocrinology

1:15 PM – Radiology – Approach to Gastrointestinal Foreign Bodies
This talk will focus on gastrointestinal foreign bodies and the pros and cons of the imaging options available. At the end of the talk you will know when to perform each of the imaging tests in order to efficiently get to a diagnosis.

Stephanie Nykamp DVM DACVR
Assistant Professor Diagnostic Imaging – Graduate Faculty
Areas of Interest
Musculoskeletal MRI, scintigraphy, imaging of liver disease

2:15 PM – Cardiology – Approaches to Fulminant Congestive Heart Failure
Reference to the current veterinary and human literature will be used to discuss the following: assessment of pulmonary status and systemic perfusion status; therapeutic choices, rationale, and means of administration for diuretics, vasodilators, positive inotropes, negative inotropes, and other cardiovascular therapies used in critical CHF patients; and setting targets and monitoring the critical CHF patient.

Lynne O'Sullivan DVM DVSc DACVIM (Cardiology)
Assistant Professor – Cardiology – Graduate Faculty
Areas of Interest
Canine dilated cardiomyopathy, canine chronic mitral valve disease, Tissue Doppler imaging, echocardiographic assessment of systolic and diastolic function. Cardiology Web Page – www.vetgo.com

3:15 PM – Anesthesiology – Evidence about Continuous Rate Infusions and other Techniques to Improve Safety in the Critical Patient during Anesthesia
Anesthesia can be simple, but can keeping it simple be the safe method? In a critical patient, one could administer a premedication of hydromorphone, induction with diazepam/ketamine and maintenance with isoflurane. One might assume that the use of these drugs given at appropriate levels would ensure patient safety. However, there is an abundance of information in the literature on methods to reduce isoflurane requirements during anesthesia. The addition of many other drugs, singly or as constant rate infusions, has been explored and promoted. This session will examine the evidence to determine a balance that may enable a degree of simplicity while promoting increased safety during the management of critical patients. Technical steps as part of the anesthetic management approach will be considered as well with the intent of early detection and/or prevention of critical incidents in these patients rather than just their treatment.

Doris Dyson DVM DVSc DACVA
Associate Professor – Anesthesiology – Graduate Faculty
Areas of Interest
Small animal anesthesia monitoring – morbidity, mortality and analgesia

NB: Please do not make flight reservations until the course you are registering in is confirmed. Confirmation depends on the number of registrants which varies with each course. You will receive a confirmation either by phone, fax or email. Lifelearn reserves the right to cancel a course, in which case a full course refund only will be paid. All other costs will be paid by the registrant. For registrations that you wish to cancel, a 90% refund less deposit will be issued up to 60 days prior to the course. No refunds will be issued after that date except under special circumstances, when the maximum refund is 50%.