Could a vet deliver a baby?

[Dogaredabomb]

I'm just pondering the crossover of medical and surgical skills between vets and doctors. I think a vet could do a cesarean in a pinch because they learn about such a wide variety of species.

I'm not pregnant.

In fairness, when I was heavily pregnant with DC3, I reckon my anatomy resembled that of a Blue Whale more than anything 🫠🫠😂

Is it the term 'arse' you object to? OK, then - their rectum. I don't think most midwives would move a baby pre or mid-delivery in the same 'forthright' way as vets do with cows!

I have no medical training, but I'm pretty sure I could quite confidently carry out most medical and surgical procedures if push came to shove.

I'm also quite handy with a shovel, so I'd be able to 'deal with' the remains of all the patients appropriately after I'd 'treated' them!

I wonder about this too. I presume a GP could go 40 years without using a scalpel.

Slight deviation - a surgeon friend told me he would be no use in an emergency as he has worked in one specialism for 30 years. He said it would be the same with most senior medics. He said you want a nurse or trained first aider on hand for emergencies. Or an army medic.

'oh, sorry, I can't treat your dog. I'm just a neurosurgeon' 😂

I have a "human specialist doctor" buddy who has treated a gorilla because the zoo near where she lives (not UK) decided that she would have more transferrable skills than the vets for this particular issue.

Haha, obviously I was generalising a lot 😂 I just meant that vets would learn to treat specific species that vary a lot from humans (birds etc). I havent given it a huge amount of thought TBH 😂

I think he was just trying to avoid getting asked to remove bullets. Any type of surgeon would be able to tell the difference between a nerve and a vein, for instance. Maybe 😂🤷🏼‍♂️

That's brilliant, did she enjoy it?

That's a very sensible post on a slightly surreal thread. However, I did once have a nurse friend who, while training to be a midwife, asked a local farmer if she could help with the lambing so she could gain some extra experience!

Yep. I think it has been her greatest professional highlight. 😂

This is untrue. Vets cannot treat peopleas they’re not legally licenced to and have not trained in human anatomy.

My grandfather was a GP in the remote Scottish Highlands and many a time he delivered sheep either naturally or by c-section. Also dogs and other animals!

That sounds so romantic and bucolic.

Just wondering about human dentists, could they treat dog dental issues? Would they be cheaper? Asking for a canine friend.

I love pondering things like this. Yes they are used to doing surgery on animals but usually they will be fully sedated, also it is usually in their vets practice.

Where is this vet? If she has collapsed and needs an EMCS at his vets surgery then I suppose yes they could do it.

Out in the 'wild' 😏I'm not so sure. Like if they were up a mountain and snowed in with zero chance of getting help they'd be the best bet to try. I think an obstetrician would really struggle in that situation too. It could probably only be done if the mother had died.

Not antibiotics but my sister's dog has epilepsy and is on 'human' medication (she gets his prescription from Boots!) so I assume there must be meds licensed for vet use that could be effective on a person as well.

A vet with a specialism that includes primates - yes piece of piss. And way better than a doctor who isn’t an Obs and Gynae specialist.

A small animal vet who did a couple of large mammal modules at Vet school 20 years ago - they’d struggle although the anatomy wouldn’t be that different, but being able to accurately identify the different layers of tissue might be an issue.

(MRIs can be rented for scanning of large animals btw.)

It would be very interesting to see my Jack Russell in the dentist's chair.

I put on a Resus workshop at a hospital years ago with those dummy things and fake arms to put lines into (a pro ran it I just facilitated) and most of the pople who turned up were Doctors, mostly Consultants and Surgeons.
Thy told me thaat its not something they ever did these days - they called for a nurse .
With regards to vets there is one in my friend group and she is the go to for any medical advice for both humans and animals.

Claudia Winkelman was treated by an animal physiotherapist whilst filming the traitors!

If we're talking about a The Stand type scenario, with 99% of humanity dead & the rest trying to rebuild, I reckon you'd be jolly glad to see a vet if your appendix started grumbling or your gangrenous limb needed amputating. Transferable skills, basically.

OTOH, with reference to the question of dog antibiotics up thread, I live in the ME. Take your dog to the vet here & if she needs antibiotics or painkillers, you'll be sent off to the nearest human pharmacy to buy weight adjusted human antibiotics & painkillers OTC. & if they're injectable (mostly they are) you are expected to buy syringes & needles & get on with it at home. So again, yes, transferrable!

I’m a sheep farmer and once I had to hold a ewe down while the vet did a Caesarian. I think think the dose of anaesthetic might be a bit dodgy. But yes I’m sure a vet could deliver a baby. The normal presentation of a lamb or calf is head and front feet so easier to pull out than a baby with its big head.

Having a similar conversation the other day, I have raging toothache but obviously can’t get an NHS dentist and just don’t have the money for private dentistry.
Joked that I’d speak to our vet because they took out 5 of my cats teeth for the same price our local dentist wants for 1 😂