Two years ago,  I became very enthusiastic about the use of laparoscopes and rigid endoscopy for my four-legged patients.  I have had several two-legged family members and staff amazed at the quick recovery they themselves had experienced with various surgeries that were being performed with a laparoscope in human medicine.  Growing up, I can remember some of the women in my family who were “out of commission” for several months while they healed from a “medical procedure.”  No one really said what the “procedure” was, but, as I grew older, I came to realize it was usually a hysterectomy and having grown up within my parent’s veterinary practice, I thought , “oh, so they were spayed".

Unlike humans, “spaying” our pets is considered a routine surgery.  We all know, however, that there is no such thing as “routine” when anesthetics and surgery are involved.  The old saying that a 99% success rate is a good statistic only if you aren’t the 1%  comes to mind.   Pets have always bounced back from being spayed with relative ease and only in recent years did veterinarians realize the level of pain they masked and began administering pain medication routinely.   Imagine my surprise and delight when we began the new procedure of laparoscopic spays and found our pets standing in their cages and wagging their tails within hours of coming out of surgery.  That first dog alone justified the money we had  expended to bring this new technology into the hospital. 

It is not easy today keeping up with the newest and greatest equipment and technology.  I recently had to learn a Mac computer at home over my Windows run computers at the hospital.  Don’t even get me started on the learning curve of Blackberry’s, I phones, texting, etc.  Ultimately, we purchase all of these things with the goal of making our lives easier.  (You will notice I did not say pain free as the learning curve is certainly not painless!)  It is the same in my chosen field of veterinary medicine.  Technology is changing at a rapid pace and there are steep learning curves.   But for those who make the leap, it truly brings some wonderful things into our lives and those of our pets.   I can’t image what will be available when my children are my age but I know if I keep an open mind, there will be some amazing things happening.  Constant challenging of ourselves is exciting and, as mothers, we need to encourage our children to be excited about new things and new challenges.  Life is always an adventure.