[en] The aim of this study was to further develop and extensively describe a surgical technique in order to realise long-term fetal blood sampling in the bovine species. Eleven Holstein-Friesian 6- to 8-month pregnant cows (4-10 years old) were used for this study. Gestational age on the day of surgery varied from approximately 180 days (n = 1) to 240 days (minimum: 232 days, maximum 252 days; n = 10). The fetal medial tarsal artery was catheterised in pregnant cows with a polyvinyl catheter in dorsal recumbency under general anaesthesia. Although 5 out of 11 operations (45.5%) performed between 232 and 252 days of gestation were lost due to different causes mainly associated with peritonitis and septicaemia, the mean interval between operations and calvings was 42.5 days (between 27 and 95 days). It is important to emphasise that a well-trained surgical team is needed for bovine fetal cannulation in order to be able to decrease the risk factors during the operations. Due to the fact that after 5 unsuccessful cases none of the pregnancies were lost, this skill can be reached, and our technique can enable bovine fetal blood sampling for long-term endocrinological and physiological investigations before and during parturition.
Disciplines :
Veterinary medicine & animal health
Author, co-author :
Szenci, Ottó ; 1University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Department of Obstetrics and Food Animal Medicine Clinic and MTA-SZIE Large Animal Clinical Research Group, Üllő, H-2225, Hungary
Touati, Kamal ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département clinique des animaux de production (DCP)
De Sousa, Noelita Melo; 3Physiology of Reproduction, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège (ULg), Liège, Belgium
Hornick, Jean-Luc ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de gestion vétérinaire des Ressources Animales (DRA) > Nutrition animale en milieu tropical
Van der Weyden, Gijsbert Cornelis; 5Department of Farm Animal Health, Foetal and Perinatal Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Taverne, Marcel Antonie Marie; 5Department of Farm Animal Health, Foetal and Perinatal Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Beckers, Jean-François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences fonctionnelles (DSF)
Language :
English
Title :
Development of a surgical technique for long-term catheterisation of bovine fetuses.
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