Seong Chan Yeon

Behavioural reactivity of the Korean native Jindo dog varies with coat colour.

This study aimed to compare the behavioural reactivity of Jindo dogs with two different coat colours. Fawn (16 males, 15 females; mean age+/-S.D.=7.2+/-2.1 years) and white (10 males, 10 females; mean age+/-S.D.=6.9+/-2.1 years) Jindo dogs were exposed to a set of behavioural tests. All of the dogs were videotaped during the testing period to allow further analysis. The intensity of social, aggressive, fearful, and submissive reactivity and the frequency of urination as a scent-marking behaviour were scored on a scale running from 0 to 4 points. For each dog, each variable was defined as the average of the scores of nine behaviour tests. Then, the behavioural reactivities of Jindo dogs of each coat colour were compared. The results suggested that Jindo dogs of fawn coat colour exhibited a significantly lower intensity of fearful and submissive reactivity than those of white coat colour. In addition, fawn Jindo dogs produced scent-marking behaviour significantly more frequently. The results of the present study may provide useful information for scientific researchers, potential owners and breeders of Jindo dogs.

Sprayed intraperitoneal bupivacaine reduces early postoperative pain behavior and biochemical stress response after laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy in dogs.

This study investigated the use of sprayed intraperitoneal bupivacaine to relieve postoperative pain behavior and biochemical stress response after laparoscopic ovariohysterectomy (LOVH) in dogs. Sixteen sexually intact female dogs were randomly assigned to two groups. The sprayed intraperitoneal bupivacaine (SIB) group received 4.4 mg/kg of sprayed intraperitoneal bupivacaine diluted to 0.25% with an equivalent volume of saline after pneumoperitoneum. The control group received 1.76 mL/kg of saline in a similar fashion. Both groups received preoperative periportal 5% bupivacaine (1 mL) before incision. Postoperative pain was measured using the short form of the Glasgow composite measures pain scale (CMPS-SF, 0-24). Serum cortisol and glucose concentrations were measured preoperatively and 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24h postoperatively. The SIB group had significantly lower CMPS-SF compared to the control group 1, 2, 4, 6, and 12h after the operation. Cortisol concentrations were significantly increased from preoperative concentrations in the control group at 0.5, 1, 2, and 4h post operation and at 0.5 and 1h post operation in the SIB group. No significant differences were seen in serum glucose within each group. This report suggests that the use of sprayed intraperitoneal bupivacaine can be used as part of a multimodal approach for pain management after LOVH in dogs.

Spontaneous Bone Regeneration in Surgically Induced Bone Defects in Young Rabbits

Defects of the femoral shaft (15%, 20%, 25%, and 30% of the femoral length) with intact periosteum were made in young rabbits to investigate differences in union time. The mean union time was 7.3, 7.1, 7.4, and 7.0 weeks, respectively and there was no significant difference (P >0.05) between the groups. The mean healing indices were 6.7, 4.6, 3.9, and 3.1 weeks/cm, respectively and these were significantly different (P <0.05) between the 15% bone defect group and the other bone defect groups. These results suggested that union time was not affected by the amount of bone defect. Femoral lengthening of 20% was performed to compare the quality of callus with those of the femoral defect of 20%. The mean healing indices of defect and lengthening were 4.6 and 5.7, respectively and the difference was significant (P = 0.004). The callus stiffness of femoral defect was higher (P = 0.02) than that after femoral lengthening whereas the bone mineral density of the callus showed no significant difference (P = 0.37) between two groups. The method of filling bone defect with callus generated from the intact periosteum may be a new therapeutic option for the reconstruction of large bone defects in children when other treatments are not available.

Laparoscopic nephrectomy in dogs: An initial experience of 16 experimental procedures

Left laparoscopic nephrectomy was performed in 16 dogs to describe the surgical techniques and initial experiences associated with operation time and surgery complications. The renal vein and artery were occluded by three ligating clips, respectively, and the ureter was sectioned after ligation with ligating clips at the level of the iliac vessels. A morcellation technique was used to remove the kidney from the abdominal cavity after placing it into a specimen retrieval bag. Total operation time and time spent for each different surgical stage in the first five operations were compared with those in the last five of the 16 operations. The factors that affected the differences of total operation time were examined, including sex, bodyweight, number of operations, incision length, and surgical stages. Six intra-operative complications occurred including splenic hemorrhage (3 cases), torn specimen retrieval bag during kidney morcellation (1 case), and subcutaneous emphysema (2 cases). Surgical time for laparoscopic nephrectomy was affected primarily by the time spent for renal vascular pedicle section and could be decreased as the number of cases increased. Thus, laparoscopic nephrectomy using ligating clips and morcellation for kidney removal could be considered where nephrectomy is indicated in dogs.

Accuracy of sonographic diagnosis of pneumoperitoneum using the enhanced peritoneal stripe sign in beagle dogs.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of estimating the smallest amount of abdominal free gas detectible in a large population of beagles by ultrasonography. Healthy dogs were randomly divided into three groups: group A that received 0.1 mL of air injected into the peritoneal cavity, group B that received 0.2 mL of air injected into the peritoneal cavity, and group C that received 0.5 mL of intraperitoneal air. Randomly, some dogs in each group did not receive air injection for the negative control. All ultrasonographic procedures were performed by individuals blinded to group assignments and the presence of intraperitoneal air. The minimum volume of consistently detectable air with good accuracy and reliability was 0.2 mL. Results of the study demonstrated that the enhanced peritoneal stripe sign (EPSS) can verify cases of pneumoperitoneum if more than 0.2 mL of intra-abdominal free gas is present The EPSS is a reliable and specific ultrasonographic characteristic for diagnosing pneumoperitoneum in dogs.