Gastric ventriculotomy in Caracara plancus (Falconiformes: Falconidae): case report

Abstract

The present case report aim to detail the surgical removal of a sharp foreign body of metallic origin, adhered to the inner wall of the gastric ventricle, in a specimen of Caracara plancus. The chosen surgical procedure was gastric ventriculotomy, although this is not the approach of choice since this organ has a thick muscular wall. Once adhered to the gastrointestinal tract, with most of its portion in the gastric ventricle, other accesses to the foreign body were discarded. The anesthetic approach was weighted for the species, with pre-anesthetic medication with 1 mg kg^-1 butorphanol, 15 mg kg^-1 esketamine and 1 mg kg^-1 midazolam, intramuscularly, while anesthetic induction and maintenance was performed using sevoflurane. Monitoration was mainly performed by capnography and vascular Doppler. In the postoperative period, antibiotic therapy was instituted with 5 mg kg^-1 enrofloxacin, as well as analgesic control with 0.2 mg kg^-1 meloxicam and 25 mg kg^-1 dipyrone, intramuscularly, at an appropriate dosage for the species. Without intercurrences, the surgical procedure performed and the pre, intra and post-surgical protocols instituted were considered efficient, since they culminated in the animal’s recovery with regard to the ingestion of the metallic foreign body and its triggered gastrointestinal dysfunctions.