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by Dr Hamish Baron, The Unusual Pet Vets, Frankston, VIC
This all-in-one endoscopy tower has everything we need for endoscopic examinations in birds and reptiles. We also regularly use it for dental examinations with rabbits.
What’s good about it
As we treat a lot of exotic pets, we tend to use this equipment differently to most small animal vet clinics. Generally, it’s used for arthroscopy and surgical procedures but in our case, we use it for endoscopic surgery in birds and reptiles. Recently, we used it to assist in desexing a turtle. The most common reason we use it is for coelioscopic exams in birds, looking into their air sacs. It’s useful driving the camera in there to see what’s going on. Once we visualise an abnormality, we can collect samples and images that can be stored, allowing us to track changes over time.
The unit supports 1.9- or 2.7-millimetre endoscopes but also has a wide array of other attachments. We have an otoscope head we use in the mouth of rabbits during and after dental surgeries. This allows us to take photos of the teeth, cheeks and tongue. All this information is included in the discharge instructions for the owner. It helps them understand what we’ve done, how we’ve done it and what their pet’s mouth looks like now.
It’s a nice piece of equipment that makes my working day much easier. I enjoy using it and getting quick results.
What’s not so good
This is expensive equipment that’s very delicate. The biopsy forceps and scissors used for endoscopic surgery are around three millimetres in length and one millimetre in width. Fantastic for bird surgery but difficult to clean. The scopes are only 2.7 millimetres and will break if they’re bent or dropped. A lot of care is needed, particularly during procedures with minimal access and during post-procedure handling of the endoscope and biopsy equipment.
