From: Cassie Mulcahy
Sent: 19 August 2013 01:23
To: dawn.sheppard
Subject: V-Gel – Midland Veterinary Hospital
Hi Dawn,
My name is Cassie Mulcahy and I am one of the nurses at Midland vet Hospital in WA where we are trialling your V-gels at the moment. They are absolutely fantastic and the recoveries are so smooth it makes you wonder just how much irritation and damage we are doing with the et tubes.
Kind Regards,
Cassie Mulcahy
Hospital Co—ordinator
Midland Veterinary Hospital
“The v-gel really gives us the huge reassurance and confidence to keep the airway anytime, especially when we have emergency situations in rabbits and cats. For example, rabbits with unknown emergency, cats with a huge oral mass or abscess, cats with a foreign body in the trachea. We could keep the airway immediatelyto ventilate and oxygenate animals since hypoxia can kill them easily. Even though our students have to learn to place ET tubes, they always place v-gel first and only replace with an ET tube if they want. Therefore I always prepare v-gel every time we anesthetize animals.”
Hiroki Sano, BVSc, Diplomate ACVAA
Senior Lecturer in Veterinary Anaesthesiology
Institute of Veterinary, Animal 8: Biomedical Science
Massey University, New Zealand
“I first saw a laryngeal mask in use in the early 905 whilst studying for my certificate in anaesthesia. I thought back then that it looked an excellent tool to use on cats and rabbits. I had the opportunity to use the v-gel quite recently and I’m please to say they have exceeded my expectations. They are simple to use and | feel they make a big difference to controlling anaesthesia in animals with a small airway.”
Iain Richards BVSc CertVA CertSHP MRCVS
Independent Veterinary Consultant
Cumbria, UK
“I purchased v-gels at last year’s London Vet Show, so would be among the first practices to use them.
Put simply, they are very easy and quick to insert, and far less traumatic than ET tubes. We have had no problems at all, and would not be without them.”
David Paterson MRCVS, Bruceview Vet Clinic, Stirling, Scofland
I’ve used the v-gel on 15 cats which had to undergo surgical and diagnostic procedures weighing between 3 and 4.4 kg, all ASA 1 orASA2.
They were all treated with dexmedetomidine, ketamine and propofol before placing the v-gel. The choice of v-gel proved to be easy, following the guidelines given in the instruction manual, positioning was easy and immediate.
I have not encountered any difficulty in choosing when to stop the insertion because the device could not go any further, confirmed by the perception of a slightly dull sound and the presence of water vapor in the v-gel. Moreover, proper positioning has been also attested by capnography curve. Likewise taping v-gel to the patient was simple and secure and
also changes of decubitus have not altered the correct position (confirmed by capnography).
During general anesthesia there were no complications or leaks of halogenated (isoflurane); even when inflating the cufi‘ of the v-gel, I have not faced any lingual compression and the pulse oximeter always worked correctly. In all cats awakening was sweet. No owner has reported any problem of swallowing, feeding or coughing in the following days.
After use, the v-gel was washed and dried completely before proceeding to autoclaving, the sterilization helps to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases.
My opinion on v-gel is very positive for the following reasons:
– easy placement
– easy taping to patient
– excellent anesthesia inhalation
– excellent quality of awakening
– no side efiects associated with orotracheal intubation with traditional devices
– autoclaving, and thus cancelling the risks of transmission of infectious diseases
– clarity of the instruction manual.
Prof. Fabio Leonardi
Anesthesiologist at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Parma, Italy