Episode 6 Junior Vets

Our vets get hands on today.

A giant goat needs darting so his hooves can be soothed.

Pet chicken, Houdini, needs a lump to disappear.

And homeless Border collie, Joker, needs a life-changing op.

I'm Alex Riley and this is Junior Vets.

Pets...

Wildlife...

Farm animals...

All in need of expert help.

And at Edinburgh's amazing vet school, six raw recruits

have arrived.

They're working alongside the school's top notch team.

Ahhh! As if I just did that!

And they are being pushed to their very limit.

As they help to save the lives of sick and injured animals.

Six new junior vets but I can only chose one...

..winner.

This year's Head Vet is...

Are you all primed, prepped and ready for some serious animal?

ALL: Yes!

Yes! That's the spirit.

Are you prepared to go the extra mile to help sick

and injured animals get better?

ALL: Yeah!

Ooh, argh!

OK. Today's pairs are as follows.

Josh, you'll go with Robyn.

Molly, you're with Bonte.

BOTH: Yeah!

And you're all staying here at Vet School.

However, Nyatepe and Jamie, you're going off-site.

And Jamie, just one thing.

Are you sure you've overcome your fear of goats?

Yes.

Good!

Phew!

Jamie's buddy, Nyatepe, is a handy partner to have when things

get tough and heavy-duty.

This lad doesn't seem to have any fears or phobias, which is

vital if you want to become a top vet.

Ooh!

Molly's another junior vet who never seems to get rattled or unsettled

but she hasn't experienced surgery in the vet school

animal hospital yet.

Will it make her flap?

Well, let's see, shall we?

Joker, the Border collie, is in need of a new home.

He was found wandering the streets seven weeks ago and has been

staying at the Edinburgh Dog And Cat Home ever since.

But today, he has come to the Small Animal Hospital for what

might be life-changing surgery.

Thankfully, there's an expertly trained, highly experienced

team here to book him in.

Hello! Small Animal Hospital.

Junior vets Bonte and Molly.

Good morning!

Hello. Is this Joker?

Yes, it is.

If you'd just like to take a seat over there.

Thank you.

It's a big day for homeless Joker.

He requires an operation called a castration.

The op will mean he can't have unwanted puppies and it'll

make it miles easier for him to find a nice new home.

Come on, Joker!

This is an important day for Molly, too.

So, you're happy you can hear his heart beating nice and strongly.

Yeah.

It was my first dog patient and also my first time in theatre

so I was really nervous.

Because Bonte's done it before, so she knew what to expect

and what was going to happen and she was just like, "You'll be fine."

-So, she was really good.

-Yeah.

First, Joker is prepared for an anaesthetic injection,

so he'll be unconscious for his surgery.

Aww!

I know. It doesn't hurt them that much.

It doesn't really hurt. It's a little nick.

What's he feeling like right now? Is he, like, a bit drowsy, or...?

Yeah, he's a little bit drowsy and he's probably still a little

bit worried about what's going on because he's in a

very strange place...

Yeah.

..with strange people.

Within seconds, Joker is out for the count.

Bonte leads the way as he's connected to a heart monitor.

Marvellous!

There we go!

Well done, girls! That's his heartbeat.

But there's an issue...

the testicle that needs removing from Joker is not

where it should be.

I've never seen that.

Senior surgeon, Anna, arrives on the scene to try and sort things out.

There's two options. One, they are either up in his tummy.

The other option is that he's been castrated in the past

and no-one's reported that.

OK?

What was a simple surgery job is now not so simple.

If a missing organ stays inside Joker's belly, it could cause

problems in the future, so they're going to operate straightaway.

-Are you happy to help me with that?

-BOTH: Yeah.

Where do you want them to clip?

-Perfect.

-There we go.

Joker's ready. So get yourselves scrubbed in for surgery, you two.

-Are you looking forward to doing an operation?

-I am, are you?

Yeah.

If the missing organ is found and removed, Joker will be one

step nearer to finding a new home.

Hopefully, they'll find it as well.

-Yeah.

-Cos they couldn't find it before.

And later, it's all about steady hands and tricky kit as the team

zero in on Joker's problem.

You're actually doing surgery now.

I know. That just felt really cool!

Jamie and Nyatepe are at the Highland Wildlife Park.

All sorts of rare and endangered beasties live here.

Today my junior vets are meeting vet Jane from Strathspey Vets,

and head keeper Morag, for some extreme vet work on a mystery beast.

Right Jamie, Nyatepe, I'm needing a hand today.

I've got somebody who's needing a manicure,

needing their toenails done.

A foot manicure with a gun? What's going on, Jane?

It's quite an excitable animal, so we might have a little

bit of trouble catching it, so we put an anaesthetic drug in the dart.

-Are one of those pink fluffy things going to go on the end?

-Yeah.

We have nice bright ones because if Morag misses, which she

doesn't very often, we need to be able to find the dart as well,

so we need to see where it is. OK?

So, we just need to go find our animals now.

-Oh! I spot some heads.

-Oh, wow!

-There. You see the heads?

-Wow!

There he's...right up there.

Oh, yeah, ha-ha!

He's really beautiful.

Meet your beasties, boys.

Is that a deer?

No, it's called a markhor.

It's like a goat and they run up those rocks like Spider-Man.

Markhors are related to domestic goats, but the males are

twice the size.

In the wild, these curly, horned, Asian giants spend most of

their day hopping from rock to rock, which wears their hooves down.

But there's a lot less rock in the Highlands, so they need the

team's help to get their hooves all tidy so they don't become

infected and overgrown.

Jamie might have just conquered his fear of little farmyard goats,

but today they're treating the mighty Joachim.

Check out his metre-long horns!

I'm quite anxious but obviously I've done goats the other day,

so, I think I'll be better with them today.

I don't want to get near them, no, cos, like, their horns are so huge

and they seem quite strong.

-You're in my shoes for a day.

-Yeah.

Before the junior vets can enter the enclosure,

Joachim needs to be anaesthetised with the dart gun.

So, as soon as that dart goes in,

I need somebody to write down the time. OK?

Is there any danger to the goat itself?

Yeah. I mean, they get quite stressed so that's obviously a danger,

if you're anaesthetising something that's a bit stressed

but the important thing, once you've got them down,

is keeping an eye on their heart

and their breathing. OK, let's go.

The junior vets must record the time Joachim is darted

so they know how long he's been unconscious.

The last thing the team want is

a wide-awake, giant, grumpy goat on their case.

Sharp-shooter Morag moves into position.

All right!

Right, so stay nice and quiet when this bit's happening, OK?

We'll just have to wait.

(Which one's she looking for?)

-One of the big males. That one there.

-Yeah.

Joachim's in Morag's sights.

Carefully does it.

Spot-on, Morag!

-(What time was it? What time was it?)

-(8:58.)

I think it went in the muscle, so I think that was fine.

Were you happy with the shot?

I am happy with the shot but I would like you to look

through your binoculars just to see that the dart's gone off.

Easier said than done, Morag.

The junior vets can't see if the dart's delivered a full dose

of anaesthetic, because Joachim's done a runner.

Well, I think I would have run off if I was darted in the bum!

Later, Joachim is stretchered off

as the junior vets prepare for heavy-duty vet work.

-He's really big.

-He is a big boy, isn't he?

Chickens. Not your average pet,

but these girls all mean the world to owner, Jane.

They were all rescued from a battery farm

but they have a wonderful life now, scratching around in her garden.

They're very affectionate,

and so it's just constant love.

But one of her brood, Houdini, seems to be in a bit of discomfort

and might need junior vet help.

This sounds like a job for Robyn and Josh.

Right. Are you coming out? Clever girl!

They're teaming up with exotics vet Kevin.

Don't peck me. I'm not food!

When I found out I was working with exotics,

I didn't expect it to be a chicken, but I was really excited.

I thought it would be like a snake or a spider or something.

Hey, it looks like the team have put their finger on the problem.

If you look on this side, can you see there's a little swelling?

It feels quite solid.

That lump might not look too big

but remember, Houdini's got a small head.

I bet that's causing a bit of bother.

If you get an abscess forming or infection forming, it forms a solid.

The only way we're going get rid of those thickening changes is

to physically remove that tissue.

Houdini definitely needs surgery, but before she goes in

it seems something might need to come out.

Why do you think it's important to feel your chicken

before you go for surgery?

-She might lay an egg.

-Yeah.

Kevin suspects Houdini wants to lay an egg

and they can't start her surgery until she does.

And how do you get the egg out?

Erm...

Good question, Josh. Kevin?

It's a question of gentle pressure, a little bit of lubrication,

and you just find the right bit,

and it's slowly, slowly getting the egg out.

Your chicken's going to be fine

and we'll give you a ring when she's ready to go home.

-She likes it if you whisper to her.

-OK.

Don't worry, Jane.

These two will make Houdini's health problems disappear!

But first they need nature to take its course and that egg to drop.

CLUCKING

And later, the junior vets need to keep their focus

as Houdini the chicken goes under the knife.

So this is the pus within this sinus.

Over in theatre two, Joker the Border collie is about to undergo

his surgery with Bonte, Molly and surgeon, Ana.

Joker has a problem called a retained testicle

and it needs removing.

He doesn't have an owner, but this surgery will stop him

having unwanted pups, which might help him find a new home.

Now what we need to do is to make a little hole in his tummy.

But the bit they need to remove from Joker isn't where it should be,

and the team need to find out where it is.

I had to hold the camera, which was quite hard, it was quite heavy,

and I had to, like, move it around.

Can you see my blade coming in?

-You'll be able to see me there, right?

-Yeah.

Bonte keeps a steady hand

allowing Ana to locate the missing organ.

-Ooh!

-Oh, that's huge!

I got really nervous cos I saw Bonte was doing really well

and everything and, of course, she'd been in theatre before

so then it was my chance to do something.

I was getting quite scared and I didn't really know what to expect.

-OK Molly, do you want to do this?

-Yes, please.

Hey! The pressure's on Molly here.

It's her first time in surgery and she's only gone and got control

of the surgical graspers, hasn't she?

How does it feel, Molly,

to be actually removing something from a dog?

Erm, quite scary, actually!

You're doing a good job.

Molly needs to keep the organ in position so Ana can cut it free.

-Oh, I'm sorry!

-It happens all the time.

Oof! This is some serious first-time surgery Molly's got going on here

and her buddy's supporting her all the way.

I think you can get it this time, Molly.

-It's hard cos...

-I know. It looks really hard.

It dropped at first and then you did it in the end, didn't you?

You did really well!

-There we go!

-Yay!

But I was really pleased when I got it cos it had taken,

like, a few chances.

-Like that?

-Yeah, cut there.

-You're actually doing surgery now.

-I know, that just felt really cool!

-Under there?

-No. On top.

Aw! As if I just did that!

I was really warm with all the lights on us and everything

and I just started to feel really faint.

-Are you OK?

-Yeah, I just feel a bit sick.

Molly's done a cracking job

and takes a well-earned breather out of surgery.

Are you feeling OK, Bonte?

Yeah, I'm absolutely fine.

So Bonte finishes off with Ana

before going straight out to check on her partner.

-Are you all right, Molly?

-Yes, thanks!

-How are you feeling, Molly?

-I'm OK, thank you.

Sorry!

I think you did the right thing by saying that you felt a bit rough.

I didn't want to just faint on the dog!

-No, exactly, and...

-Or on you, Alex!

Or on me, more importantly, on me, yes.

Don't faint on me, whatever you do.

Here comes surgeon Ana. What does she think of their efforts?

You happy, both of you?

Yeah, I've really enjoyed it, thank you.

You've done really well, very good assistants. Good job!

-High-five!

-High-five!

-Thank you.

Theatre is really hot and she just felt a bit fainty,

which happens a lot, you know, for some of the staff members as well.

I actually didn't have any other vet scrubbing in with me

and I felt very confident with both of them that we,

you know, the patient's safety was at the highest standard at all times.

-You did really well!

-Thank you. So did you.

-Good teamwork.

-Yeah.

It feels really good that we've helped him

and now he might be able to find a new home and family and stuff.

-Hello!

-Back at the wildlife park, Jamie and Nyatepe are on the trail

of a super-sized markhor mountain goat called Joachim.

Jamie's not a big goat fan and he's definitely not a fan of big goats.

I'm a little bit nervous of the goat

but, erm... I've just got to deal with it.

Joachim needs vet work on his feet to prevent them becoming infected.

He's just been hit with an anaesthetic dart.

Now the vet team can enter the enclosure and approach with caution.

Just nice and quiet.

He's quite sleepy, but sometimes they can be a wee bit twitchy.

Like, when you are far away you didn't quite like realise

how big the horns were.

You see, there's the dart there, so we have to take that out

before we move him cos obviously there's a needle in it

and we don't want any of us getting stabbed, do we?

So, just pull it out like that.

And the other thing we want to check is to make sure

it's gone all the way down, cos that means he's had all the drug.

So I'm quite happy he's had all the dose.

Just to be sure Joachim's completely unconscious,

the team check his reflexes.

Yes. He is heavily sedated but he is just sedated.

He's not blinking, which is a good sign.

One, two, three...

Right, let's get this sleeping giant to a safer working area.

-Right. Is everybody quite happy and quite comfy?

-Yeah.

Just take your time so nobody falls over.

-He's really big.

-He is a big boy, isn't he?

Do you just want to see if you can pop his foot back on there?

-That's it. Good.

-So where are we taking him?

Just down here. Right, gently put him down. That's it.

OK, right. Do you want to see if you can find his heart for us?

The team don't know exactly how long Joachim's anaesthetic will last,

so it's Jamie's job to alert them if he thinks it's wearing off.

So how can you tell when he's going to wake up?

Well, you listen to his heart, and see how the speed it's going?

It's nice and steady, and we just keep like that

and his breathing should just stay like that as well.

And if there's any twitching round his head

-or if he gets up and runs away!

-OK.

-It'll be too late by then!

Keep looking and listening, Jamie,

so Nyatepe can get to work on those huge feet.

You see, they're very, very overgrown.

So, what we need to do is trim his feet back.

They need to work carefully and quickly.

-Like that?

-Yeah.

-Oh, no!

That's it. Squeeze.

Excellent! Good!

That's quite tough!

It never really hurt him,

so it was good, just like cutting your own nails.

How we getting on there, guys?

It's quite steady at the moment, so I think he's fine.

-Quite happy?

-Yeah.

It's quite ace, actually, cos I thought I didn't think

I'd actually get close to a goat again but, I am, so...

Wow! there's no stopping Jamie now!

Hand over those clippers!

Right. Try cutting that.

Squeeze!

A good antibacterial scrub to stop any infections...

That's it.

And finally, the nerve-racking bit. Joachim needs to be revived

with an injection to reverse the anaesthetic.

I was worried that he was going to be a little bit dizzy

and just run towards one of us.

-Are you putting it into his jugular vein?

-Yeah. That's right.

Here we go!

Phew! Joachim's up and off!

He's away. There you go!

Ha-ha! It's woke up!

The best thing he can do now is go and find himself somewhere quiet

with his pals, and go to sleep and just sleep it off.

How did my junior vets get on, Jane?

I think overall, they both coped really well.

If I had to pick one over the other, probably, Jamie.

He certainly concentrated a lot and he seemed to be quite happy

and quite comfortable working with the markhor here.

I thought it would just come and attack you but it just ran off

when you lifted it up, cos it was scared that we shot it in the bum!

Yeah!

Great work, both of you!

I've definitely beaten goat phobia.

-They were really big though, weren't they?

-Yeah!

And their horns were spirally.

See? He's away up the rock there, already.

And there he goes.

That's what I like to see.

A giant mountain goat with a spring in his step.

Houdini the poorly chicken

needs surgery to remove a lump from her face.

But the operation can't get under way yet.

Everything's on hold for junior vets Josh and Robyn

because they've discovered Houdini needs to lay an egg first.

CLUCKING

Ah, lovely! We're back on track.

We're about to go into surgery and she's laid her egg,

which is good cos we won't have to help her lay it before surgery

so now she won't have to go through all that stress

before we go into the operation.

The lump on her nose is causing Houdini real discomfort

but hopefully our junior vets' work can help cure her today.

It's going to be quite rare, doing an operation on a chicken.

Josh has a key role in surgery.

He's monitoring Houdini's vital signs with vet nurse tutor Caroline.

Once she's unconscious,

you will start monitoring her anaesthetic for us.

Josh uses a thingamajig called a Doppler.

ECHOING WHITE NOISE

That noise is actually the chicken's heart.

It's really important. At any time, if we don't hear it,

that means we need to sort something out quickly.

While Robyn scrubs in for the operation

Josh begins recording her vital signs.

Oxygen, we're up to four litres.

Josh must be very accurate.

When surgery gets under way, Houdini's life may depend on it.

-84.

-I counted that at 140.

Do you want to have another go at counting it again?

When I was doing the counting, I kept getting it wrong.

Well, you have to times it by four.

I'm not really good at my times tables.

Finally, Josh has got his numbers right.

Vet Kevin wants to get going.

But his assistant Robyn is still scrubbing in.

I was finished, like, five, ten minutes ago then

I turned the tap off and tapped it and I had to start it all again.

I'm feeling really stupid because it takes so long.

The clock's ticking.

Kevin cannot delay the op

because it's dangerous for a small bird like Houdini

to be under anaesthetic for a long time.

-Hurrah!

-Phew!

Junior vet, coming through!

Anaesthetist Josh, are you happy for us to start operating?

-Yeah!

-All stable. Good.

-Yeah? OK.

Another cotton bud, another cotton bud.

Stay focused, Robyn.

-Another cotton bud.

-Sorry!

I was struggling at first, but then as we got further

and further into it, I kind of got used to it

and then knew how important it was to stay focused.

These ones?

Nope, the others.

There should be scissors. That's it. Beautiful!

So this is the pus within this sinus.

Brilliant, Houdini's lump is out.

Ooh! Now that must have been uncomfortable.

Robyn cleans Houdini's wound.

It needs a steady hand...

All right. Lovely!

..and she's got one! Well done, Robyn.

It's a tense moment for anaesthetist Josh

as he waits for Houdini to recover.

There you go, girl!

And after 30 minutes on the ward, Houdini's up and about -

minus that horrible lump.

Oh, she's standing up!

And a few hours later, she's ready to go home with happy owner, Jane.

The type of surgery we did was a sinus surgery

and it all went really well.

Thanks for looking after my wee girl.

Kevin, how did they do?

You can be the best surgeon in the world

but communicating with that client is actually the bottom line.

It's that that's very important, and you've done that very well today.

She trusted us to look after her chicken.

I can't believe I've just done a chicken operation!

I never thought we'd be that hands-on with it. It was amazing!

It's been a hard day for my junior vets

but they're back happy, chatty, cleaned up and germ-free.

The pressure's now on me. I have winners to pick.

-Hi, junior vets.

-Hello.

What I'm really impressed by is the fact

that you're all maximising your opportunities.

You're getting into a situation and you're not wasting it.

You're focusing on it, and keeping that focus

is an extremely important part of vet work, so well done!

Nyatepe and Jamie hit the Highlands

and fixed up Joachim, the giant goat.

True to form, Nyatepe was handy with the vet tools

and Jamie continued to bin his fears and phobias in style.

It was no laughing matter when Joker the dog underwent important surgery.

Bonte and Molly were brill in what was probably

the trickiest small animal op any junior vet has handled.

Robyn and Josh didn't chicken out of surgery work, either.

Houdini was in real discomfort

until these two helped get rid of her grisly lump

and sent her home with a nice, neat beak.

That was very impressive stuff. Well done.

But my vets of the day are Molly and Bonte. Well done!

Sensational vet work. These two were flying today.

When we were helping Ana, like sewing

and then like pulling with the camera and everything,

it was, like, really disgusting, so I think we kind of deserved it.

Yeah, I think we did. And we helped Joker.

Yeah.

Come on, you lot. These cabinets won't stock themselves.

They did deserve to win

though because it sounded like a really hard operation.

It must have been quite long if Molly nearly fainted.

Fancy getting vetting yourself?

Well, get over to the CBBC website right now

and you'll find a special patient needing your expert help.

Next time on Junior Vets,

a thoroughbred horse is turned upside-down for surgery.

Competition horses stay the right way up for vet checks

and a sick lion is down and then up for a hi-tech examination.