Companion Animal Surgery – Good Surgical Practice (GSP)

A mixture of case-based and problem oriented lectures, e-learning, theoretical and practical exercises. Case-study work. Scientific literature.

Having completed the course, the student must be able to:

Knowledge

• Understand the possibilities and limitations of surgical intervention primarily in first opinion companion animal practice clinical situations.
• Understand the importance of application of good surgical practice (GSP) including Halsted’s principles in companion animal surgery.
• Explain and discuss the key principles that are mandatory prior to initiating and for the follow-up of surgery in companion animal patients including challenging wounds and wound healing.
• Explain and discuss emergency assessment and clinical decision making in the acute surgical patient
• Assess the limitations and contraindications related to surgeries in companion animal patients.
• Define and identify key surgically-relevant anatomical structures.   

Skills

• Apply the physiological response to pain and tissue trauma in companion animals in a surgical situation including soft-tissue, orthopaedic and trauma patients.
• Interpret signs of companion animal pain and administer appropriate pain alleviation and anaesthesia.
• Perform fundamental surgical techniques including induction of anaesthesia, haemostasis, life-saving emergency techniques, simple skin grafting and flap approaches applied in tumor extirpation, surgical biopsy methods, common ophthalmic surgeries, and oro-dental surgery.
• Perform oral presentations for both specialist and non-specialist colleagues and clients.
• Find evidence-based information and approaches in surgical patients including the use of searchable medical databases such as Medline.  

Competences

• Plan, decide and evaluate a diagnostic work-up for patients with both simple and more complex histories within companion animal surgery.
• Independently obtain, evaluate and elaborate on evidence based new knowledge within companion animal surgery.
• Collaborate and communicate within and between specialist, dedicated companion animal and mixed practice peers, veterinary technicians and lay persons involved in companion animal surgical patient management.

The course responsibles at the compulsory course in Companion Animal Surgery are:

• Professor James Edward Miles, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Professor MSO Thomas Eriksen, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
  
  

Lecturers at the compulsory course are:

• Professor MSO Thomas Eriksen, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Senior veterinarian Helle Harding Poulsen, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Specialist Hanne Ellen Kortegaard, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
• Professor James Edward Miles, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
• Other national and international capacities within the field.