The use of the new collagen matrix associated with a collagen membrane could be a clinical option to preserve post-extraction ridges, especially when an improvement in soft tissue dimension and quality is desired. However, the cost-benefit ratio of this approach should be thoroughly evaluated in further studies.

The aim of the present report is to describe a novel successful treatment approach for metaldehyde poisoning in a dog: intravenous lipid emulsion therapy (ILE). A 2.5-month-old female Labrador Retriever was referred to the Emergency Department following deliberate ingestion of a metaldehyde-containing granular bait. Severe continuous tonic-clonic activity, muscle tremors, loss of consciousness, diffuse congestion of the oral mucosa, tachycardia, tachypnoea and nystagmus were observed upon admission. Additional intravenous administration of a 20% lipid emulsion resulted in normalization of the vital signs and complete neurological recovery. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report describing ILE in the treatment of canine metaldehyde intoxication and the first description of a case of metaldehyde poisoning in a dog in Romania. Considering the severity of the neurological signs and the fact that no specific antidote is known, treatment can be significantly challenging to the veterinary practitioner. This finding should be included in metaldehyde poisoning therapy protocols, especially when severe clinical signs fail to respond to symptomatic treatment.

A one-and-a-half-year-old male dog of the Caniche breed was examined for repeated regurgitation episodes. At clinical examination food or liquid regurgitation episodes were reported at different times after food ingestion. The esophagus was visualized with the videoendoscope and then examined on liquid barium sulphate. The assessment revealed the existence of two cervically and mediastinally (intrathoracically) located dilatations. The surgical procedure was based on polyester vascular prostheses also used in human vascular surgery. The surgery was performed in two stages with a 4 week interval in between, without the resection of the dilated walls, with the prostheses positioned and fixed in different ways and with very good post surgery recovery. Eleven months after the surgery the dog's health condition was very good. To our knowledge, this is the first report about these procedures which avoid the resection of a portion of the esophagus wall, thus preventing the occurrence of scars or strictures at this level, and prostheses increase the support and stability of the affected esophagus portion. Canine, esophagus, diverticular dilatation, surgeryOne-and-a-half-year-old male dog, Caniche, 6.5 kg, was presented, manifesting repeated food or non food (liquid) regurgitation episodes at different times after food ingestion. A polyester prosthesis was used on the subject. This type of prosthesis features good stability and elasticity, and can work more than 10 years after the implant. It is highly resistant, toxic free, does not cause either intolerance or undesired side effects and reacts well in high flow and high speed areas.Esophagus diseases in dogs are diagnosed based on regurgitation episodes ocurring mostly after eating. Postprandial regurgitation is common in dogs suffering from esophageal diverticulum (Shaw et al. 1997). Esophageal diverticula are either congenital or inherited as dilatation (sack) of the esophageal wall with lower frequency in dogs. Consequently there are only a few reports on this issue world-wide (Hill et al. 1979). Esophageal diverticula are classified as pulsion and traction diverticula (Shaw et al. 1997) with the remark that pulsion diverticula are incriminated in the epiphrenic area (Pearson et al. 1978).Authors such as Qin et al. (2003) and Zhang et al. (2008) used polyurethane artificial stent prostheses covered by chitosan-collagen sponge in dogs for esophagus reconstruction purpose.This report describes the clinical, endoscopic and therapeutic features of a canine patient suffering from double esophageal diverticulum (in the cervical and endothoracic area) in which vascular prosthesis was used for the first time. Case presentationPostprandial regurgitation and vomiting at different times after food ingestion was reported. The portprandial episodes started 3 months before, with a progressive worsening.

IntroductionThe aim of this prospective study was to assess the efficacy of a vascular surgery course (2008–2012), and to verify the viability and the feasibility of vascular anastomoses.Material and methodThe vascular surgical techniques performed simultaneously on pigs were: enlargement prosthetic angioplasty, abdominal aortic interposition graft and aortoiliac bypass. The endpoints of the study were the surgical skills and the technical quality, assessed on a scale ranging from 1 (satisfactory) to 3 (very good) for our participants.ResultsA significant improvement in vascular surgical skills tasks was observed during the study years and we also found a significant statistical association between the quality of the suture and the surgical technique used (Kendall coefficient=0.71, p=0.001<0.05).ConclusionsOur course contributed to the improvement of the technical vascular surgical skills of the operator teams, reproducing in vivo, in pigs, the intraoperative environment of human patients.