[💡7.04.2025, 18:00] Advanced Thoracic Surgery in Rabbits: Surgical Techniques and Perioperative Period

Practical workshops MASTERCLASS

📲 Due to the great interest in the workshops and the limited number of places, the registration is scheduled to start on 💡 7.04.2025 at 18:00

Date: 16/06/2025, Warsaw
Location: CEM, Warsaw
Presenter: Florent Modesto DMV, IPSAV, Dipl. ABVP (Wavre, Belgium)
Note: The workshop will be held in English.

Participation in the course is possible in two forms:
– entry ticket for the surgeon himself
– entry ticket for the team (surgeon + assistant/anesthesiologist)

The entry price includes:
– participation in the theoretical and practical parts
– unlimited access to cold and hot drinks and snacks
- buffet lunch
– colored materials bound in a solid binder
– certificate of participation with educational points

Entry requirements for participants:
To ensure success in advanced thoracic surgery training, participants should meet the following requirements:
✅️ Have a solid foundation in surgical techniques and procedures used in lagomorphs.
✅️ Demonstrate proficiency in intubation techniques and have a good understanding of rabbit-specific anaesthetic and periprocedural management protocols.
✅️ Be comfortable working with rabbits, taking into account their unique physiological challenges, including those related to anesthesia.
This course is intended for veterinarians with experience in exotic animal surgery who wish to improve their skills in advanced thoracic procedures.

Training objectives:
After completing the course, participants will:
▪️Learn the anatomical details of the rabbit's rib cage, including key structures such as the thymus, lungs, and intercostal nerves, which will increase surgical precision.
▪️They will gain skills in the use of local anesthesia in rabbits, including intercostal nerve blocks and intrathoracic injections, to reduce pain and improve surgical outcomes.
▪️They will gain confidence in the techniques of performing thymectomy (removal of the thymus gland) and partial and total lung lobectomies.
▪️They will master the techniques of inserting, securing and managing drains, and will gain an understanding of clinical situations requiring their use.
▪️They will learn to identify and solve typical intraoperative and postoperative problems in rabbits, such as pneumothorax, bleeding or pain, using evidence based medicine approaches.
▪️They will implement advanced anaesthetic protocols, including preoperative preparation, intraoperative monitoring and postoperative care adapted to the specific physiology of rabbits.

Main features of the training:
🔃 Dynamic interweaving of theory and practice.
📽 Advanced visualization tools: Head-mounted instructor camera and image projection enhance visibility of key techniques.
👌 Emphasis on practice: More than half of the day devoted to practical exercises.

Detailed workshop program

1️⃣ Introduction and preparation for surgery – theoretical session
✔️ Overview of the anatomy of the rabbit thorax: thymus, lungs and major structures.
✔️ Surgical considerations: preoperative planning, patient selection, and risk assessment.
✔️ Key principles: asepsis, intraoperative monitoring and postoperative care.
✔️ Preparation of the operating environment: instruments, sterile setting and ergonomic positioning.
✔️Review of surgical instruments and specialized devices (suction machines, retractors, electrocoagulators).
✔️ Draping techniques, patient positioning and skin preparation.

2️⃣ Local anesthesia
✔️ The importance of local anesthesia in multimodal pain management.
✔️ Intercostal nerve block techniques and thoracic infiltration.
✔️ Dosage, drug selection and potential complications.
✔️ Independent practice of local anaesthesia techniques on cadaver under supervision.

3️⃣ Thymectomy
✔️ Indications for thymectomy: thymus and other chest tumors.
✔️ Surgical approach: median sternotomy and thoracic access.
✔️ Risks and complications, including damage to nearby structures.
✔️ Safe tissue preparation, hemostasis and suture techniques.
✔️ Live demonstration with high-resolution image projection.
✔️ Participants perform thymectomy on cadaver, practicing tissue manipulation and preparation.

4️⃣ Lobectomy (partial and total)
✔️ Indications for lobectomy: tumors, abscesses, injuries.
✔️ Surgical approach: identification and ligation of vessels and airways.
✔️ Strategies to minimize complications such as pneumothorax and bleeding.
✔️ Live demonstration with high-resolution image projection.
✔️ Participants perform a lobectomy.

5️⃣ Insertion of a chest drain
✔️ Indications for chest drainage: postoperative care, pneumothorax, fluid drainage.
✔️ Types of drains and methods of their attachment.
✔️ Monitoring and management of drains after surgery.
✔️ Drain placement on the cadaver using image projection.
✔️ Participants practice inserting drains under the supervision of an instructor.

6️⃣ Summary and Q&A