Radiographic studies are among the most important diagnostic procedures in the clinical evaluation of sea turtles. The anatomical structures for which it is possible to obtain an optimal assessment by radiographic examination are respiratory tact, digestive tract, skeleton, carapace, and plastron. The fundamental and indispensable projections for a proper radiographic estimation of the body are dorsoventral view, vertical beam, horizontal beam, lateral view, and craniocaudal view. Radiographs in the dorsal-ventral projection usually allow achieving the detection of fishhooks in the various sections of the digestive tract. In fact, hooks are poorly detectable in other projections due to the intense radiopacity determined by the superimposition of other anatomical structures, and to the inability to set the radiographic cassette in strict contact with the body of the animal. On the contrary, when the hooks are stacked in the esophagus wall, especially in the intracoelomatic tract, images in the dorsoventral beam do not allow to ascertain if the tip or the hook barbs are dangerously close to airways (trachea and bronchi) or great vessels (brachycephalic trunk). Without this information, the surgeon risks to cause irreparable injuries during the removal of the hook. On the other hand, a complete radiographic study in two orthogonal projections is invaluable to correctly assess position and orientation of the hook to properly schedule the surgery. The present study included 21 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) referred to the Department of Veterinary Medicine of Bari University (Italy), which showed drifting longlines hooks located in the caudal cervical or intracoelomatic esophagus subsequently to a first radiographic evaluation in dorsoventral beam. The other radiographic projections were obtained in horizontal beam lateral view, with turtles set on a radiolucent support (plastic box) with the surface of the radiographic cassette adherent to the lateral margin of the bridge. In order to reduce the overlap of soft tissues of the pectoral girdle, the front flippers were forward stretched below the neck, and temporarily wrapped together with self-adhesive elastic bandage. X-ray images were obtained with a digital acquisition system, which allowed improving contrast and brightness of images by graphic processing. The opportunity to evaluate different radiograms obtained in two orthogonal projections has allowed to precisely locate the position of hook, shank and bend with respect to the horizontal midsagittal plane the animal, the orientation of the tip (cranially, caudally or laterally), and above all the closeness to vital anatomical structures. These significant assessments have allowed choosing the most appropriate surgical approaches, and to avoid dangerous intraoperative maneuvers during removal of hooks.

The accidental capture of sea turtles with longline is a frequent event in the Mediterranean sea. Frequently hooks are located in oral cavity or oesophagus and surgical removal is relatively easy; whereas in many other cases hooks and especially lines are located in lower digestive tract, often causing severe damages, as serious injuries on the intestinal wall. Recently, effective surgical techniques have been proposed for hook and line extraction from different districts of digestive tract. The access to the coelomic cavity through the prefemoral soft tissues allows the removal of hooks and lines from the caudal portions of the digestive tract and it is often employed in conjunction with cervical or axillary approach, if one or more hooks are located in oesophagus or stomach and lines cross the entire digestive tract. In this study, the left inguinal approach is compared to the right one, and results are reported concerning 97 turtles treated by these routes for the extraction of foreign bodies from digestive tract. The surgical approach through soft tissues of the right inguinal region was performed in 63 turtles. In 23 cases a unique approach was used to remove hooks lodged in the lower digestive tract and lines extended through the entire digestive tract. In 40 cases this approach was performed together with cervical and left axillary surgical approaches, to remove hooks lodged in oesophagus or stomach, and lines crossing the lower digestive tract. The surgical approach through the soft tissues of the left inguinal region was performed in 34 turtles. This technique was employed as a single approach in 5 cases to remove hooks stopped in the pyloric portion of the stomach, and in 10 cases to remove lines crossing the entire digestive tract. In the remaining 19 cases the left inguinal approach was employed additionally to the cervical one, to remove hooks lodged in the oesophagus and lines extended through the entire digestive tract. To remove hooks located in the intestine, we chose the side closest to the site of the foreign body. To remove line crossing all the digestive tract, the choice of the side access was initially random, but experience showed how the right inguinal approach is to be preferred. Indeed, we tested how this approach allows the exteriorization of longer tracts of intestine, whereas with the left inguinal approach is often difficult to expose the tract between jejunum and ileum, because this portion is more subject than others to plication, intussusceptions and severe lacerations of walls, because of the major tensions that line induces there. To guarantee the survival of the patient, our direct experience show definitely how it is important to operate as soon as possible, in particular when it could be present a line in the digestive tract. The choice of the surgical approach appears crucial to solve lifethreatening situations, in which lines cross the entire digestive tube.

In the Lampedusa Rescue Centre, each year a great number of animals accidently captured by longline, trawl-net and drift-net engines or found suffering adrift, are rescued. The purpose of this work was to analyze clinical data and surgically treatable lesions for the period ranging from January 2003 to December 2010. For each subject the following was considered to verify the real interactions’s degree: localization, kind and seriousness of lesions, capture method, fishing gear used. For each animal a health examination was drawn up in a clinic folder within general health condition, clinical and diagnostic procedures, type and location of the lesions, and therapeutic treatment used. Biometrical data, rescue modality, general health condition, lesions, mark of fisheries interaction and duration of hospitalization were related. The presence of external lesions was examined, an x-ray exam put into evidence the presence and the number and localization of hooks. From January 2003 and December 2010, 1496 turtles were rescued. 877 subjects were captured by trawl net, evidence of a good collaboration with this fishery. 294 were catch accidentally with longline, 310 subjects were found suffering adrift and manually rescued, the remain group stranded. Our study shows as turtles with hooks fixture in the upper digestive tract (mouth and oesophagus) were mostly captured by longline and assisted directly by fishermen, while turtles with hooks in the lower digestive tract (stomach and intestine) were mostly found in trouble adrift and manually rescued, evidence of a past interaction with longline. This data confirm that very often, in case of accidentally capture by longline, turtles are released into the sea, just cutting the line. In this way the hook progress deeper, and line, when swallowed, causes foreign body injuries. The number of external injuries attributable to trawl net appears small compared with the great number of animals caught with this fishery system and conferred to the centre. Few days after interaction with longline, surgery on turtles is almost always decisive. Otherwise, when animals are rescued highly weaken after a long period from interaction, surgery becomes complex. The importance of timely action is further confirmed by the different location of hooks and lines in relation to the time from ingestion. In the subjects accidentally caught by longline, hooks are mainly present in mouth or in oesophagus and lines come out from mouth. In turtles manually rescued hooks are generally located in the lower digestive tract and lines cross all intestinal canal, coming sometime out of cloaca. In conclusion, longline and trawl net are both a dramatic menace for sea turtle conservation: damages caused by trawling do not allow many opportunities for treatments, but damages caused by longline can be largely resolved only with a well-timed action.

During the period October 2010 - October 2011 the WWF Rescue Centre of Molfetta (Italy) referred 134 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Bari (Italy) for clinical evaluation following to bycatch in bottom trawling in Manfredonia Gulf (Southern Adriatic Sea, Italy). After biometric assessment, all the turtles underwent clinical evaluation and radiographic examination to check for lesions ascribable to the capture (carapace and plastron trauma, skull or limb fractures, pneumonia subsequent to forced submergence and drowning). Dorsoventral, lateral and craniocaudal (horizontal beams) projections of head, total body and limbs were performed. In 8 turtles (6%) the presence of fish hooks in upper gastrointestinal tract was assessed: 3 animals presented an evident fishing line, while the presence of the hooks resulted accidentally at the x-ray examination without apparent clinical abnormalities in the other subjects. 4 hooks were localized in the intracoelomatic tract of the esophagus, in correspondence of tracheal bifurcation, and the other ones in cervical esophagus. In one case the hook was manually removed after sedation, while the others required surgical procedures. The hooks located in upper esophageal tract were removed after cervical esophagotomy, while the removal of the ones positioned deeper in non papillated esophagus was achieved after a transversal supraplastron surgical approach to access the coelomic portion of the esophagus. During surgery, one of the turtles, presented in critical conditions, revealed a long fishing line attached to the hook, so a right prefemoral approach to coelomic cavity was performed in order to remove it from intestinal lumen with multiple enterotomies on the exteriorized small intestine. In 3 turtles the hook had pierced the esophageal wall and were located extra-lumen, giving rise to large inflammatory responses with granulomatous abscessations, which caused the displacement of trachea and the partial obstruction of esophageal lumen. Nonetheless, surgery proved solving, and adequate post-surgical management (with 2 to 5 weeks of hospitalization) allowed the total recovery and the release of the turtles. Data from this study show that the major risks of longline fishing bycatch are not only the presence of tracts of lines in the gastrointestinal tube, as reported by numerous Authors, but also the hook itself, as it can give rise to foreign body granulomatous reactions that can occlude the gastrointestinal tract, and impair the feeding capacity of the turtles.

Onchocerca lupi, a zoonotic nematode infecting the eyes of carnivores, has been increasingly reported in dogs from Europe and the USA. In order to improve the current status of knowledge on this neglected filarioid, diagnostic imaging tools (i.e., ultrasound scan, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging) are herein used to diagnose canine onchocercosis in two dogs, which scored positive for O. lupi microfilariae at the skin snip test and to assess the anatomical location of the nematode within the ocular apparatus. Results indicate that ultrasound tools are useful to address the diagnosis of O. lupi in dogs and to evaluate the localization of nodules or cysts containing the adult nematode.

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Multidetector computed tomographic (CT) anatomy was used to evaluate the lungs of 10 loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) without pulmonary disease, in order to provide a baseline of turtle lung anatomy by CT imaging. In all patients, in this retrospective anatomic study, the CT datasets were carefully evaluated for assessment of the bronchial tree morphology and branching pattern, of the arborization pattern of pulmonary arteries and veins and of the bronchoarterial–bronchovenous diameter ratios. Imaging anatomy was compared with previous published data based on dissection and microscopic anatomy. With the increasing availability of advanced imaging tools for wildlife animal patients, a detailed CT anatomy background is required to decipher correctly the pathologic respiratory conditions of sea turtles.

OBJECTIVE: Red complex bacteria (Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia and Porphyromonas gingivalis) play a major role in the aetiology of periodontal disease in humans. This study was designed to evaluate the association of such bacteria with periodontal disease in dogs. METHODS: Seventy-three subgingival samples taken from dogs ranging from 2 months to 12 years (median age 4 years) were tested for red complex bacteria using a polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS: Thirty-six of 73 (49 · 3%) dogs were found to be positive for T. forsythia and P. gingivalis. Dogs with gingivitis or periodontitis were more likely to be infected with T. forsythia and P. gingivalis [odds ratio (OR) 5 · 4 (confidence interval (CI) 1 · 9-15 · 6), P = 0 · 002] than healthy animals. Only 3 (4 · 1%) of 73 samples were positive for red complex bacteria, but the association with periodontal disease was not significant. Conclusion And Clinical Relevance The results indicate that involvement of red complex bacteria in periodontal disease in dogs is similar to that observed in humans. Only the concurrent presence of T. forsythia and P. gingivalis were correlated to periodontal disease in dogs in this study.

In rehabilitative medicine of sea turtles, traumatic lesions and infectious diseases are the more frequently encountered reasons to provide veterinary care to these animals. Trauma related emergencies (boat strikes, ingestion of fish hooks, entrapment in fish wires, etc.) require a surgical approach, and consequently a correct pain management. Data on reptile analgesia and pain management are scarce, both with NSAIDs and opioids, and totally lacking in sea turtles, so dosage regimens are generally extrapolated from other animal species, with consequent risks of clinical failure and damage to the animal. In order to avoid circumstances like these, preliminary data on the pharmacokinetic behavior of meloxicam in loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) are presented, in order to assert the possibility of its clinical use to provide pre- and post-surgical analgesia. Meloxicam has been chosen in spite of other NSAIDs because of its more selective anti-COX2 activity, and consequently expected lesser adverse side effects. 6 clinically health loggerhead turtles (courtesy of Lampedusa WWF Sea Turtles Rescue Center), 9.6-27.1 kg weight, were used. The animals were individually maintained in outdoor pools with continuous marine water flow, at 25-27°C and 35‰ salinity. The dose of 0.1 mg/kg of meloxicam was decided, so reducing the recommended dose used for dog and cat as no data are reported on the capacity of turtles to tolerate NSAIDs. Nevertheless, no adverse reaction was observed after the administration of the drug. Blood samples were collected from alternated cervical sinuses in lithium heparinized tubes. Meloxicam plasma concentrations were determined by DAD-HPLC. After the administration of a single i.m. dose, a very quick absorption rate has been noted, with time to peak concentration 0.79±0.28 h (mean ± s.e.), and peak concentrations 0.03±0,01 mg/ml. As pharmacodynamic and efficacy studies of meloxicam in reptiles have not been published, the minimum efficace concentration cannot be predicted, so further studies are requested to define the optimal dosage. A very fast disappearance of drug from vascular compartment was observed, with concentrations of drug below the quantitation limit (25 ng/ml) in 4.60±3.49 h, elimination half-life of 1.32±0.55 h, clearance of 4.32±1.19 L/h•kg, and apparent volume of distribution of 6.51±2.45 L/kg. These data are surprising enough, if compared with the ones reported in green iguana, where plasma concentrations resulted >0.1 mg/mL for up to 24 h, elimination half-life 9.93±4.92 h, clearance 0.037±0.016 L/h•kg, and apparent volume of distribution 0.46±0,12 L/kg following a single i.v. dose of 0.2 mg/kg. The large volume of distribution observed in loggerhead turtle suggests a wide tissue distribution, but nothing can be said on the persistence of drugs in tissues or real elimination of the drugs, so further studies are essential.

Data on reptile analgesia are scarce for nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and opioids and almost completely lacking in sea turtles, even though emergencies requiring correct pain management are very frequent in their rehabilitative medicine; therefore, dosage regimens extrapolated from other species involve the risk of clinical failure and damage to the animals. We describe the pharmacokinetic behavior of meloxicam in the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). We chose meloxicam because of its selective anticyclooxygenase- 2 activity and lesser adverse side effects. No data are available on the capacity of turtles to tolerate NSAIDs, so we chose a dose of 0.1 mg/kg of meloxicam. Plasma concentrations of meloxicam were unexpectedly low both for intravenous (IV; maximum concentration [Cmax]=0.04±0.02 µg/mL) and intramuscular (IM; Cmax =0.07±0.09 µg/mL) administration. A double-peak phenomenon occurred after both IV (time for second peak concentration Tmax2 = 10.33±10.89 h) and IM (Tmax2=1.17±0.75 h). The second peak after IM injection was premature, so some difficulty and delay in absorption appears to be an appropriate explanation. Furthermore, the area under the curve, and therefore systemic bioavailability (F531.82±28.24%), after both IV (0.30±0.29) and IM (0.10±0.03) injection appeared particularly limited. Terminal elimination slope and mean residence time indicated fast elimination after IM dosing; as a consequence, plasma concentrations dropped below analytic limits in 8 h. Considering that IM is the favored route of administration of drugs in rescue centers, it is unlikely that meloxicam at 0.1 mg/kg is an appropriate choice, particularly in long-term pain management protocols

The veterinary literature has been enriched by numerous clinical studies and about the study of hip dysplasia in dogs, but there aren’t many works related to the feline species, although it is believed that it has a also considered important impact of increased life expectancy and changing eating and living conditions of cats. In this study, in order to diagnose hip dysplasia, the dorsolateral subluxation index of the femoral head in cats was determined by CT scans, simulating the loading position by comparing the data obtained with the angle of Norberg - Olsson. On the basis of analysis of the obtained data, it was found that the evaluation of the hip joint by this method can be predictive of the disease before the degenerative joint disease onset and with greater sensitivity than the Norberg angle measurement

The longline is a fishing system widely used in the Sicilian Channel and is the cause of high mortality for sea turtles. Of 1170 loggerhead sea turtles referred to WWF Sea Turtle Rescue Centre of Lampedusa in the past five years, at least 288 had lesions in the digestive tract resulting from the ingestion of hooks and lines. 213 cases showed a hook lodged in the wall of the oesophagus and the fishing line protruding from the rhamphotheca, while in the remaining 74 cases one or more hooks were detected in the stomach or intestine, with monofilament lines that occupied large stretches of the digestive tract. It is known that the surgical approach for the extraction of hooks from the oesophagus is relatively easy, while surgery of the lower digestive tract is certainly more challenging and further complicated by the serious injuries that hooks and lines often cause in the stomach and intestine. This study describes the surgical techniques used for extraction of hooks and lines from the stomach and intestine and reports the results obtained in relation to the type and severity of lesions found in 74 Caretta caretta. 24 turtles had a hook with a short line in the stomach and removal was easily achieved with the surgical approach through the soft tissues of the left axillary region. In 23 cases the surgical approach was via the soft tissues of the inguinal region (16 right and 7 left) to remove fishing-lines that extended through the entire upper digestive tract. In the remaining 27 cases multiple surgical approaches (cervical and inguinal or axillary and inguinal) were performed to remove hooks lodged in the oesophagus or stomach, but where the long-lines had traversed the entire digestive tract. In the 50 operations involving longline extraction, the intestine was exteriorized gradually from the inguinal approach and line was cut into segments and extracted through small multiple enterotomies (from 2 to 4) performed at regularly-spaced intervals along the anti-mesenteric margin. In 34 cases single or multiple intestinal lacerations were detected, caused by the pull of the lines; these were sutured progressively. In 5 cases, because of severe lacerations, it was necessary to perform an enterectomy of a long section of small intestine and subsequent termino-terminal anastomosis. Of the 74 operated turtles, 23 died after 4-12 days post-surgery as a result of intestinal lesions and severe debilitation, the remaining 51 made a complete recovery and were released 15-40 days after surgery. These data confirm that in case of interaction with longline fisheries the greatest danger is caused by the ingestion of lines that prevent the turtles from eating and rapidly cause serious damage to the bowel wall. However, in all cases where hooks, and/or line, have been ingested, it is imperative that extraction of these foreign bodies proceeds without delay, according to the most modern techniques of anesthesia and surgery, to maximise the chance of recovery.

We report the surgical techniques used to remove accidentally ingested hooks and branchlines localized in different parts of the digestive tract of 129 loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta, together with the characteristics and localization of lesions, and final outcome related to their severity. Hooks were removed from the cervical esophagus via the ventral surface of the neck, while the supraplastron approach was performed for hooks wedged in the intracoelomic portion of the esophagus. An approach through the left axillary region was preferred for fishhooks in the stomach, while hooks and long branchlines in the intestine or pyloric area were removed by approaching the coelomic cavity through the right or left prefemoral fossa. The ingestion of fishhooks, and/or longlines, often induces severe injuries in the digestive tract that could lead to the death of the turtles, with the extent of damage engendered by lines often more severe than that caused by hooks, leading to strangulation, intussusception, and tears that require resection of long tracts of intestine. Spontaneous expulsion of hooks, even where possible, involves long waiting times, with the possible impairment of the turtle's clinical condition, and should be avoided when the line is evident or suspected. The development of diversified surgical techniques enabled us to approach the coelomic cavity with minimally invasive and easy-to-perform methods, and survival rates proved very satisfactory.

Severely debilitated or post-surgical sea turtles often suffer from anorexia, making their management very challenging. In cases like these, a nutritional support is mandatory. Common practice in rescue centres is assisted feeding, daily administered via a soft tube passed by mouth to stomach. This procedure is relatively easy in most reptile species, but it results very difficult in chelonians, and particularly in large sea turtles, as access to mouth and oesophagus can become impossible if the animal withdraw the head. Furthermore, this practice can result a source of considerable stress in wild animals, and in sea turtles it becomes very messy because of the particularly narrow gastroesophageal sphincter. The placement of a permanent oesophagostomy tube can considerably simplify the daily administration of assisted nutrition. Drugs (antibiotics, vitamins, etc.) and fluids, essential in the clinical management, are as well easily administered through the permanent oesophagostomy. This procedure was performed in 5 severely ill Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in order to assure a correct assisted feeding. All patients were anaesthetized with 4-5 mg/kg intravenous propofol. Before placement, the tube length was pre-measured from the lateral side of the neck to the left pectoral scute, then permanently marked. With the extended neck, a curved hemostat was introduced through the mouth into the esophagus and laterally displaced. This caused the skin to tent and the carotid and jugular veins to slip dorsally or ventrally to avoid them to be incised. A small incision was made trough the skin and the wall of the esophagus with a scalpel blade at the tip of the hemostat, that has been forced outside by blunt. The incision has to be as caudal as possible in the neck to avoid the turtle to entangle a limb and extract the tube. The tip of the tube was grasped with the clamp, pulled through the incision and withdrawn trough the mouth to the marked point. Then, the tube was redirected into the oesophagus and pushed up to the stomach. Levin’s tubes 4-5 mm diameter with radiopaque guide were used, to verify the correct placement by x-ray examination. After placement the tube was sutured to the skin just next to the incision with nonabsorbable sutures; the extended length of the tube was secured to the edge of the nucal scute with a suture and to the carapace with cyanoacrylic glue. Broad spectrum antibiotics were administered after the surgical procedure. Patients were fed daily through the tube with homogenized fish and shellfish, supplemented with vitamins. After food administration, the tube was washed with few millilitres of saline solution to avoid its obstruction. The tube was well tolerated, and the turtles were able to eat normally in 2-3 weeks while it was still in place. The tube was kept in place for two more weeks after appetite had returned to normal. If the tube has to be held in place for several weeks, it is possible that reparative reactions expel stitches and the tube needs to be sutured again.

In this study, the authors describe a simple, nontraumatic procedure for ultrasound-guided placement and maintenance of jugular and cephalic vein catheterization. The ultrasound scans were performed with a GE Logiq 400 machine connected to a multifrequency (7-11 MHz) linear-array transducer. To find the cephalic vein, longitudinal and transverse color-Doppler ultrasonographic scans were made of the dorsal surface of the flipper. To find the jugular vein, scans of the midline of the lateral surface of the neck were performed. Once the vein had been located, a 16- to 22-gauge 51-mm needle catheter was inserted into the skin beneath the ultrasound probe, inclined at 15-25 degrees to the skin surface. The successful insertion of the catheter inside the vein was monitored by ultrasound. The authors believe that the procedure described offers a good option for fashioning a simple, nontraumatic, and durable vascular access in sea turtles compared with previously described techniques.