A mobile surgical cradle for sheep

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
A mobile sheep laparotomy cradle particularly suited to routine ovarian examinations on large numbers of ewes is described. A modification of the sheep laparotomy cradle designed by Lamond and Urquhart (1961) has been described by Hulet and Foote (1968). A sliding support allows the table to be lowered to ground level for easy loading, and the patient is immobilised by restraining the front legs. An alternative modification (Figs. 1 and 2) has been used for 2 years at this research station for ovarian examination of large numbers of ewes. The two main features are the addition of wheels to give general mobility, and the rotatable surgical table. The anterior of the ewe is restrained by a rubber band passing across the shoulders and attached to an anchor point. The anchor point is fixed to a tray which supports the suspended animal's head and shoulders. An animal in position for laparotomy is shown in Fig. 1. For the laparotomy described by Lamond and Urquhart (1961) it has been found an advantage to place the head and shoulders on the same side of the anchor point as the intended incision. This automatically rotates the body and tends to allow the gut contents to move away from the incision site, thus increasing the speed of surgery and facilitating suturing. The surgical table can be adjusted to several angles, being held in position by notches on the internal face of the radian arm and the spring-loaded foot lever (Fig. 2).

This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit: