Episode 5 Junior Vets

Coming up on Junior Vets...

Homeless Finbar is tested for deadly diseases...

..a pony in pain needs top level surgery...

..and a VIP patient comes in for some high-tech treatment.

When pets are poorly, wildlife gets wounded or farm animals feel unwell,

they need top vet help.

The really lucky ones come here,

to Edinburgh University's amazing super high-tech vet school.

And now, six kids, chosen from 1,000,

have become the first ever children allowed to enrol here...

I'm all ready.

..and work alongside the school's top vets.

Who wants to take this cow's urine?

They're facing an intense training programme...

-Have you done that anaesthetic before?

-What's that? What's that?

..and are being pushed to the limit at animal hospitals,

vet practices, wildlife parks and working farms.

I'm Paul Manktelow.

It took me five hard years to train to be a vet,

but this lot have only weeks to show me what they're made of.

My junior vets have hardly been around animals before.

That's so cool.

Now they are facing real heavy duty vet work.

It's, like, everything's just so bonkers.

-That is amazing.

-That's cool.

Have they got the stomach to succeed?

I feel like a real vet.

And can they stay calm under extreme pressure?

Six raw recruits...

..but...I can only choose...

one winner.

The first ever junior vet to win the prestigious head vet title...

..is...

It's day five... and we're nearly half-way

to finding out who will be named my head vet.

My junior vets have come a long way already,

but they're just about to find out how tough vet work can get.

Junior vets, welcome back to vet school,

are you enjoying the experience?

-ALL: Yeah.

-OK, today's teams are...

..Morgan and Amblessed... Sam and Will...Lauren and Saira.

Let's get down to business.

Today, some of them will be working with the top vets here at vet school

and one team is going out to a specialist horse hospital.

They'll all be dealing with real animals that need their help.

I'll be keeping a close eye on them all day.

Only those who really impress me will be in with a chance of winning

a vital vet work award,

and moving one step closer to being named head vet.

Pack leader so far is Saira.

She came to vet school really scared of big dogs,

but she's conquered her fears...

Hello.

..and she's now thinking like a vet

and handling her patients and their owners brilliantly.

I'm one of the junior vets today. It's good news.

But she needs to watch out for Will.

He's flying and fancies his chances of taking the top title.

With three operations under his belt, he's building up some serious

surgical experience.

-Another clamp. Same style clamp again.

-This one?

-That will be fine.

And he's keen to take on bigger challenges.

Awesome!

But how will he perform when he eventually gets his wish?

Let's find out.

At the horse hospital in Northumberland,

ten-year-old pony, Henry, faces a critical day.

He's normally a prize-winning show pony, but today he's a non-runner.

Poor Henry has a painfully swollen ankle and he needs urgent help.

Thankfully Henry's got a top team on his side.

International super vet Cedric Chan travels the world healing horses

and today, Will and Sam have left vet school to help him.

Cedric is a really cool guy,

because he's sort of flying around the world.

He'd just come back from France and I think he was going to Singapore.

Yeah, he's amazing that guy.

This is Henry. He's our patient for today.

We know he's got a problem in his left hind leg and an arthritic

problem in his ankle joint, they call it the "hock" in horses.

What we're going to do today is an operation to try

and get that arthritis better.

Arthritis is a nasty condition that results in sore

and swollen bone joints.

In extreme cases, it can be incredibly painful.

This is the X-ray of Henry's ankle.

Now, can you see that black line running across here?

Normally, that should be a beautiful, clear black line, but can you see

-there are bits that have been lost there across that line?

-Yeah.

Cedric and his team are going to drill away tissue called cartilage

in Henry's ankle joint.

It may sound strange, but when the bones fuse together,

the pain Henry is currently feeling will hopefully disappear.

It's extreme surgery that no other junior vet has faced before.

Go on, Henry.

Will and Sam are leading Henry to the biggest operation of his life.

And as Henry is anaesthetised, his legs will give way,

so they must ensure he doesn't hurt himself as he falls.

First, Henry's feet and legs are covered in sterile drapes

to protect him from germs during surgery.

Then a tube is put into his windpipe that pumps a gas into his lungs.

This will help him breathe and keep him unconscious for the entire op.

Now Henry is asleep, the junior vets need to quickly get him

onto a huge horse-sized operating table,

and with Henry weighing in at a whopping 300 kilos,

they need specialised lifting kit to get him there.

When I saw Henry upside-down and moving along the room, it was

really weird, and the fact that I was in charge of putting him

safely down on the operating table, as well...

And then Will makes sure he's nice and secure.

With Henry in position for the op, Will and Sam must make sure

they're fully scrubbed and gowned for surgery.

Any germs or dirt could be really dangerous.

That's good, just drop it down. That will do perfect.

If today's operation is successful,

it will save Henry from years of pain.

I'm pleased to see Will is really starting to think like a vet now.

Where will the holes be going?

You feel the bump on the inside of the ankle, the hock, there,

that's approximately where we're going to drill.

And will this operation guarantee to actually fix all of these problems?

It's never a 100% guarantee, but we normally give the owner

a prognosis of about 70 to 80% for this procedure.

Right then, we're ready to go.

Cedric's ready...but are Sam and Will ready to help him help Henry?

I'm really excited about what I'm about to do, because it's

really different. I've never done anything like it before.

It makes me feel like a real vet.

Later, the junior vets are primed for action

in case Henry needs their help.

I think he's just a bit still shaky, so we'll just see how it unfolds.

On his way to vet school from a local dog and cat home

is stray cat Finbar.

And waiting to receive him at the small animal hospital

are junior vets Lauren and Saira.

There's our cat.

Homeless Finbar faces two critical tests today.

-Hello.

-You can take Finbar, then.

We needed to make sure he didn't have any diseases

that could be transferred to any other animals.

If the results are good, he could be up for re-homing.

But if it's bad news Finbar will spend the rest of his life

living indoors.

Today, Saira and Lauren will be assisting vet Jane Brown.

Hello, there.

Hello.

Hello, Finbar.

Their first job is to relax Finbar for an external examination.

Yes, he's enjoying that, isn't he?

He looks OK,

but the team now need to test him for two contagious diseases

called feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukaemia virus.

Both are harmless to humans but can be deadly to cats.

If he has either, it will be very difficult to find him a new home.

Finbar's a really lovely cat, he's nice and playful.

He's just really nice. I really love him.

-He likes you!

-Tell you what, I'm keeping you.

He's cute and gentle now, but Finbar arrived with a feisty reputation.

Stray cats often have to scrap to survive,

and serious diseases are passed on by bites and scratches.

Now, have you noticed on Finbar's face what he's got over his nose?

He's got a scratch on his nose.

Yeah, he's a stray and he's a big lad

and he's been out defending his territory.

A blood sample is taken...

That's a good boy.

..then Saira carefully transfers the blood from the syringe

to a sample tube so it can be tested.

Perfect, OK. That will be fine.

These results really will be life changing for Finbar.

I need to have an important chat with my junior vets.

Both of these viruses are highly contiguous,

and if Finbar has got these diseases he wouldn't get a new home.

It would be really difficult to re-home him.

-Is there any cure to it, or...?

-No.

If the tests came back positive for Finbar,

it wouldn't have been a very nice life for him,

he wouldn't have been allowed outside.

I think because Finbar was a stray cat,

I knew that he had a higher chance of having these viruses.

First, some of Finbar's blood is mixed with a special chemical.

You just need one drop in each one.

It will take ten minutes for the chemical to react with

the blood and produce a final result.

So, one line means he's in the clear, and two lines is bad news.

So fingers crossed...

And later, Saira and Lauren discover Finbar's fate.

-I can see one line starting to appear, can you?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

-As long as we don't get a second one.

-We don't want any more.

In another part of the small animal hospital,

Morgan and Amblessed are about to deal with a very special patient.

It's so important that you focus today, OK?

There's a really, really critical case and all eyes are on us.

Ingrid is a six-year-old German Shepherd cross

who belongs to top vet school vet Tobias Schwarz.

Sadly, Ingrid is a very poorly dog.

She has cancer and she's here to get her treatment checked.

What type of cancer does she have?

She has a cancer of her bone marrow.

It could end up in other parts of her body

and that's what we want to check today.

When Tobias said it was cancer, I felt really sorry for Ingrid.

Ingrid's cancer is not curable, but with regular checks

and treatment, they hope to keep it under control

and help Ingrid live a longer, more pain-free life.

So I'm going to hand over Ingrid to you,

and please take good care of her.

Goodbye, Ingrid. I'll see you later.

This is an incredible show of trust from Tobias.

He's leaving my junior vets to help prepare Ingrid for her treatment.

I think it was quite a lot of pressure,

because obviously, it's one of the top vets

and you want to do it really well, but then you feel quite honoured

because he's going to trust you enough to take care of his dog.

Ingrid needs an internal scan to make sure the cancer hasn't spread.

Amblessed keeps the patient calm as they head for the prep room.

So what we need to do now is to clip her up for her ultrasound scan.

And Morgan has some valuable advice for Amblessed.

If there is a bit you can't get, go in the direction

of what the fur's going and it will come off.

This is great teamwork,

and their confident approach is helping keep Ingrid relaxed.

That's perfect.

That's impressively neat and tidy clipping from Amblessed.

OK.

Perfect. Ingrid is now ready for her scan.

And later, Morgan and Amblessed give Ingrid a thorough inspection.

Is the black dot in the spleen abnormal?

My junior vets are completing an intensive training programme

here at vet school.

It's in the training zone that they'll learn essential skills

that will help them with veterinary work in the real world.

For impressive training zone performances,

I give out vet skill credits that,

along with the all-important vital vet work awards,

will help me decide who will eventually be crowned head vet.

Today's training zone session is all about reading radiographs

or X-ray images.

As Will and Sam found out with Henry the pony,

X-rays allow vets to see what's going on inside an animal.

For this test,

I've challenged my junior vets to study a set of X-ray images.

So how are we going to do this?

They need to identify these three mystery animals.

Any idea what this is?

I know what it could be.

-What?

-A tortoise.

Nice one, Will, it IS a tortoise.

And this other reptile doesn't fool any of them.

A snake.

A lizard or a mouse, or I was thinking maybe a rat.

I think the second... Yeah.

I think that's a dog.

It's not a dog, it's too small to be a dog. It could be a cat?

Nope, not a cat or a dog. It's a hedgehog!

Spikes don't show up on X-rays.

And now I want to take them up a level.

Can my junior vets spot what's wrong in these X-rays?

-It's tricky.

-Right, so we've got one, three and five.

I have no idea.

Only eagle-eyed Morgan spots the serious injury on this X-ray.

I think it's a broken pelvis.

Brilliant spot, Morgan!

That's annoying me.

But the dog with the fractured leg doesn't fool any of them.

-Is that broken or dislocated?

-Yeah, broken.

That's been a fantastic training zone session.

But who solved the most X-ray mysteries?

I knew it would be hard, but I didn't think it would be that hard.

Stand-out performances from Morgan and Amblessed.

Their impressive detective skills gave them the highest score,

so I'm awarding vet skill credits to both of them.

You can see how you get on as a virtual vet in the Junior Vets game

on the CBBC website.

And don't forget to look for the special game code

at the end of today's show.

In the small animal hospital,

Finbar the stray cat has a real chance of a new life,

IF tests results show he does not have a highly contagious virus.

Junior vets Saira and Lauren have helped to take his blood

and the results of the test are nearly ready.

It was quite scary and quite nerve-wracking,

because I really liked Finbar and I just wanted the best for him.

If two lines appear in one window of the test kit,

it's bad news for Finbar

-I can see one line starting to appear, can you?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yeah.

One line is good.

-As long as we don't get a second one.

-We don't want any more!

-Ready...

-Yay!

-Yes!

'Just one line in each window. Brilliant - it's negative!

'The testing kit confirms Finbar is a healthy cat!'

Yeah, I'm very pleased that it's a negative result, because it's

just a great thing to know that he's not carrying a disease or anything.

And he can be re-homed and have a lovely life now.

Before Finbar leaves hospital,

he needs a quick operation to make sure he doesn't become a dad

to unwanted kittens, and then he'll be all set for a loving new home.

So first it's a jab to make him unconscious.

Finbar's putting up a bit of a fight,

but he's soon out for the count.

Lauren monitors his heart rate and breathing.

His heart rate and his respiration rate are going down a bit now,

but I've been making him blink and his colour's good, as well,

so he's all good.

Saira helps Jane at the surgery end.

How you feeling, Saira? Not woozy?

-No.

-No, she's a star.

And the whole operation is finished in no time.

I was just cleaning down and just testing to see

if we'd gone through anything.

But we haven't.

There's only a little bit of blood, so that seems all good.

Finally, the junior vets call the dog and cat home

where Finbar is currently staying to update them.

I was just calling to say that it was good news about Finbar.

'Oh, that's excellent.'

We went ahead and neutered him and he's recovering well from that.

-That's wonderful!

-OK, thank you, bye.

-'Thanks for the update, bye.'

-Well done. That was good!

-There you go.

Success!

So just time for a goodbye and a good luck to Finbar.

Bye, baby, bye, darling.

I'm seeing Saira and Lauren consistently show they can be

valuable members of a surgical team, but what does Jane think?

They handled their patient calmly, efficiently,

they weren't nervous of him and cats can pick that up,

so I think they did very well in helping keep him calm,

allowing the procedure to go smoothly.

Over the moon because he's a really nice cat. Happy days.

And it gets happier - Finbar now has a brand-new home.

In the small animal hospital,

much loved-pet Ingrid, the German Shepherd cross,

is having her monthly check-up.

Morgan and Amblessed need to see

if her cancer has spread beyond her bones.

-One...two...three.

-There we go.

When I got to know Ingrid and started working with her,

it made me think I really want a dog like her.

Treating Ingrid today is a big responsibility for my junior vets.

Her owner is top vet Tobias Schwarz.

-Hello.

-Hello, Tobias.

-Is she behaving?

-Very.

-Excellent.

The team will be using ultrasound

to check some of her vital organs for signs of tumours.

First of all we need to put the gel on.

-All over?

-Yeah, and you can then rub it in a bit.

They're looking for any suspicious-looking areas.

Is the black dot in the spleen abnormal?

I saw something quite dark on the ultrasound, which made me

quite worried. If it was something bad, Tobias would be quite upset.

There is something black here, isn't there?

Thankfully, Tobias's years of experience tell him

the black spot is a normal blood vessel.

So far, I'm pleased that everything is going well

and we've found nothing wrong.

P1, please.

Perfect. You also have to keep an eye on the hind legs.

They're done.

The cancer has not spread beyond Ingrid's bones -

a big relief for everyone.

So, Morgan, do you think everything went OK here?

Yeah, I'm pleased with this,

because we found nothing abnormal within the...stomach.

Great work from my junior vets, and brilliant news for Ingrid.

It was a relief to find that she didn't need any new treatment

and there was nothing wrong with her.

Working with Ingrid today has boosted my confidence with

working with the animals,

so if I do get an animal, I think I would be a really good pet owner.

There you go.

And they've really impressed top vet Tobias.

Good girl.

Back at the specialist horse hospital in Northumberland,

Henry the pony has been prepped for surgery

to try and help relieve the pain in his arthritic ankle.

Sam and Will are away from vet school for the day to help out.

Cedric and the team are going to drill away tissue called cartilage

in Henry's ankle joint.

The bones will then fuse together quicker, and when they do,

the pain Henry is currently feeling will, hopefully, disappear.

So I'm going to make an incision through the skin first.

Give a little dab there, so you move the blood away for me. OK...lovely.

OK, fine.

First, vets Cedric and Sam need to put small needles into Henry's leg.

These will show up on an X-ray and act as markers for the drill.

Just try and keep it nice and parallel to the needle on top.

Good work, Sam.

OK, set up for a PD X-ray, please.

This is really cool... It's, like, everything's just so...bonkers.

The X-ray images show that the guide pins are in the right position,

and the team now know exactly where to drill.

All right, then, all ready to go?

OK, I'm going to line it up - now, tell me, at the back there, Sam,

does that look nice and straight?

-That looks nice and parallel.

-Nice and straight. Nice and parallel.

-Three...two...one...go.

-DRILLING

We were there with the drill, drilling into a horse's leg!

So that was really cool.

This is precision surgery.

They need to drill exactly two centimetres into Henry's leg.

Will checks the depth by inserting a small surgical ruler into the hole.

That's nearly one.

OK, so we need to do a bit more drilling, don't we?

OK, that's fine. Right, is that nice and straight?

-OK. Nice and straight.

-Happy?

-Yep.

-OK, off we go.

This might look gory,

but it really could help Henry walk properly again.

OK, check the gauge again.

I was working with loads of amazing new equipment

and different, sort of, stuff that I hadn't used before. I just

thought it was amazing having the opportunity to do that.

Just under two centimetres.

-OK, happy with that, guys?

-Yep.

OK, we're happy with that - stop the drip, please.

They're done.

Now the priority is to get Henry awake,

out of surgery and into recovery.

Cedric starts to stitch up the wound

and asks my junior vets to finish the job. First, Sam...

Push it through, that's it, perfect. That's it, you got it, there.

It was a big leap forward, stitching up a horse with arthritis,

and because Henry was sitting there, upside-down.

It was just amazing and I felt really pleased with myself.

And now Will completes Henry's stitching.

Just guide it through gently and it should pop round the other side,

that's lovely.

The procedure is almost complete.

Finally, Will and Sam help insert removable staples that will

help the wound heal faster.

Lovely.

And then Henry's leg is carefully bandaged up.

Right, let's get this pony back through to recovery, then.

Almost there...

OK, nice and slowly.

..but they still need to move unconscious, 300-kilo Henry

from the operating theatre!

Drop down now.

Will stays in total control.

Henry's now safely positioned on the floor.

The junior vets apply extra bandages for added protection

and everyone clears the area.

Henry's been given lots of painkillers

so his leg won't be hurting.

But he will be confused when he wakes and needs space to recover.

The room is padded to protect him if he falls,

and ropes are used to support him as he stands.

Sam and Will keep a close eye on him at all times.

I think he's still just a bit shaky,

so we need to see how it unfolds.

But it's not long before Henry finds his feet

and his balance.

He's made it through, thanks to the help of my brilliant junior vets!

Will and Sam were involved in every single step of that

incredible operation.

Sam and Will did fantastically well today.

Both of them really have been instrumental in getting Henry

back to soundness again.

-BOTH:

-It was amazing.

-It was so exciting.

-It was really good.

-Yeah, it was just so good.

Awesome!

But has it helped Sam make up his mind about working

with humans or animals when he's older?

I think in terms of my decision for a doctor or a vet

it's so got to be a vet now after we done that operation.

We've actually done something to help

the animals, as well as having fun, which is, like, double whammy.

And Henry? He's on the road to recovery

and is now enjoying riding again with his relieved owner.

Each of my junior vet teams faced huge

and very different challenges today.

Now I have to decide who has done enough to win

a vital vet work award.

Morgan and Amblessed made me proud when they worked hard

and really focused on helping Tobias' precious pet Ingrid.

Saira and Lauren dealt with Finbar's test results and his operation like

fully qualified vets, and it's so obvious they love helping animals.

And Will and Sam were right in the middle of the action

assisting with Henry's amazing surgery.

It's so difficult to separate them,

and I think my decision is going to surprise at least a few of them.

This has been the most difficult decision so far.

Today's top junior vet is...

It's all of you!

Too close a call, but well done, guys.

I've been blown away by the efforts of all my junior vets today,

so everyone gets, and fully deserves, a vital vet work award.

I think we all won because, today, all of us have worked hard.

It was just a great day for all of us.

It shows we're all progressing together, as well, which is nice.

It's not just one person that's helping everybody else,

we're all sort of growing together, which is really good.

Think you can cut it as a top vet and make animals better?

Head over to the CBBC website now and use today's game code,

GOLD008, to unlock a special case in your very own waiting room.

Next time on Junior Vets...

Manfrieda the stray tortoise needs vital surgery.

Penguins and snakes are on the treatment list at the zoo.

And my junior vets go it alone

as they work with poorly Casper the boxer.

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