UNEVENTFUL SURGERY

I reviewed my knowledge of anatomy, both normal and surgical. I then prepped for the surgery.

1 SITE PREP

I scrubbed and shaved the entire area on the Cat’s skin that needed to be exposed, especially where I needed to do the incision.

2 STOMACH IMMOBILIZATION

With the help of forceps, I immobilized the stomach and stabilized the incision site so that there would be no spillage of the Cat’s stomach contents.

3 ESTIMATION OF THE FOREIGN OBJECT’S POSITION

I tried to recall the approximate location of the linear foreign object (in this case, the threaded needle) so that I could remove it once the inside of the stomach could be visualized.

4 STOMACH INCISION

I did a stab incision to open the stomach and minimize contamination. I took care not to cut the greater curvature of the stomach as it would lead to disaster.

5 SUTURING

After retrieval of the needle, I closed up, making sure the suturing was done at the level of the submucosa only and not through the mucosa, because I wasn’t expecting the stomach contents to spill over.

6 LEAK CHECK

I checked for leaks before returning the stomach to its proper place inside the abdomen.