Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
by Dr India Irvine, Jersey Road Veterinary Hospital, Woollahra, NSW
The Telepack is an integrated endoscopy system that has a few different attachments. We mainly use the endoscope attachment for gastric foreign body retrieval and assessing the oesophagus and stomach for disease. There is also a laparoscopic attachment and we recently added a video otoscope attachment.
What’s good about it
The results for all the different attachments appear on the one screen. The images have a very high-quality resolution which makes them easy to interpret. Images and videos can be saved and shown to the client. Those results are also usually attached to the patient file. When we need a second opinion or input from a specialist, it’s a simple matter to forward all the information.
There is an integrated LED light source that’s bright and cool. This uniform light coupled with the high-resolution images allows you to see a lot of fine detail. We use a flexible endoscope for procedures such as looking down the trachea and oesophagus into the stomach. The rigid endoscope is used for sterile laparoscopic procedures.
It’s not an instrument we use every day, but it certainly makes life easier when it’s needed. We tend to use the video otoscope for more severe ear cases. I like that it allows you to face well away from the patient as the results appear on screen.
What’s not so good
The Telepack has quite a large screen so it’s difficult to move around. It would be nice to be able to use the otoscope in front of the owner during a consult but as the unit is in our surgery, we have to show them photos after the procedure.
