I have yet to have to do an episiotomy on a canine bitch. Most times it can be avoided by manually pushing the vulva back if required, or by gentle pulling pressure on the presenting part. But I have heard of bitches with very small vulvas, and if I had to, I would make a small cut in the vulva toward the anus, being careful to avoid cutting too far, making certain to avoid the anal sphincter. The most likely scenario I can imagine where this would be necessary is a head-first birth where the head was pressed against the introitus and just wouldn't pass despite good contractions, or possibly a feet-first birth where everything passed through the vulva but the head (more likely in a more brachycephalic breed than a cavalier). You may be in dogs for 30 years and never have to do an episiotomy.
I always "boil" my scissors for twenty minutes prior to a whelping, so that they will be clean for cutting cords, so I imagine I would just use the boiled scissors. They wouldn't be sterile by then because I would have taken them out of the boiling water, but they would be close enough. Sterility isn't a huge issue; episiotomies hardly ever become infected -- that area has great blood supply. Very small episiotomies will probably heal well on their own. Tears into the anal sphincter or rectum will require professional closure. Regarding the eye: the ophthalmologist the vet consulted suggested doing nothing but using artificial tears to keep the eye moist until the puppy could open and close its eyes on its own. Leanne ----- Original Message ----- When would you do one - after being unable to manually deliver? > How would you maintain sterility, or isn't it important at that juncture? > More info, please! > > Susan Shidler ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 2002 by its original author.
