A surgical approach to the reptile patient

Reptiles are becoming more commonly owned and therefore presented in clinical practice, with owner expectations of medical and surgical care often being high. Reptile surgery is constantly evolving, with more novel surgical techniques being reported (Di Girolamo and Mans, 2016). It is essential to have a basic understanding of the unique reptile anatomy and physiology before undertaking any surgery (Bennett and Lock, 2000), and these will vary considerably between groups of reptiles and between different species within these groups (Bennett and Lock, 2000; Di Girolamo and Mans, 2016).

A full clinical examination and subsequent stabilisation before any surgery is essential, as many reptiles will often be dehydrated and nutritionally deficient (Bennett and Lock, 2000). Surgery should be delayed until the hydration status is improved, at the very least (Bennett and Lock, 2000). It is also important to bear in mind that reptiles are ectothermic, meaning their physiological mechanisms, including drug metabolism, are affected by their external temperatures, and are therefore optimised by ensuring that each individual is kept at its optimum temperature, which will vary between species (Bennett and Lock, 2000). As such, appropriate environmental temperatures should be provided from the preoperative period through to the postoperative period, to ensure optimum wound healing (Bennett and Lock, 2000; Alworth et al, 2011).