When recommending the ideal time to undertake surgery, it appearsfrom the current study that there are no detrimental effects on fertilityby breeding immediately before surgery or shortly thereafter. It alsoappears that there is no further benefit, in terms of fertility, by delayingbreeding to the next breeding season.

In summary, the surgical repair technique used by us and reportedhere is simple, expedient and efficacious, has minimal postoperativecomplications and is associated with normal fertility compared withcohorts of mares of a similar age. In addition, breeding in the samecycle as the surgical repair is a previously unreported technique thatshould be considered to maintain a yearly foaling interval.

References

1. McKinnon AO, Belden JO. A urethral extension technique to correct urinepooling (vesicovaginal reflux) in mares. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1988;192:647–650.2. Griggers S, Paccamonti DL, Thompson RA, Eilts BE. The effects of pH, osmolarityand urine contamination on equine spermatozoal motility. Theriogenology2001;56:613–622.3. McKinnon AO, Vasey JR. Selected reproductive surgery of the broodmare. In:Samper JC, Pycock JF, McKinnon AO, editors. Current therapy in equine reproduc-tion. Saunders Elsevier, Missouri, 2007;146–160.

4. Monin T. Vaginoplasty: a surgical treatment for urine pooling in the mare.Proceedings of the 19th Meeting of the AAEP, San Francisco, CA, 1973;99–102.5. Brown MP, Colahan PT, Hawkins DL. Urethral extension for treatment of urinepooling in mares. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1978;173:1005–1007.6. Easley KJ. Diagnosis and treatment of vesicovaginal reflux in the mare. Vet ClinNorth Am Equine Pract 1988;4:407–416.7. Embertson RM. Urovagina. In: White NA, Moore JN, editors. Current practice ofequine surgery. JB Lippincott, Philadelphia, 1990;693–695.8. Pouret EJ. Surgical technique for the correction of pneumo- and urovagina.Equine Vet J 1982;14:249–250.9. Morris LH, Allen WR. Reproductive efficiency of intensively managed Thor-oughbred mares in Newmarket. Equine Vet J 2002;34:51–60.10. Jeffcott LB, Rossdale PD, Freestone JF, Frank CJ, Towers-Clark PF. An assess-ment of wastage in Thoroughbred racing from conception to 4 years of age.Equine Vet J 1982;14:185–198.11. Bosh KA, Powell D, Shelton B, Zent W. Reproductive performance measuresamong Thoroughbred mares in central Kentucky, during the 2004 mating season.Equine Vet J 2009;41:883–888.12. Allen WR, Brown L, Wright M, Wilsher S. Reproductive efficiency of Flatraceand National Hunt Thoroughbred mares and stallions in England. Equine Vet J2007;39:438–445.13. Nath LC, Anderson GA, McKinnon AO. Reproductive efficiency of Thorough-bred and Standardbred horses in north-east Victoria. Aust Vet J 2010;88:169–175.

(Accepted for publication 23 October 2009)

BOOK REVIEWavj_562 185..188

BSAVA manual of canine and feline advanced veterinary nursing. 2nd edn. AH Moore and S Rudd, editors. British SmallAnimal Veterinary Association, 2008.

A nother in the long series of excellent ‘how to’ manuals ofveterinary intervention, this one is designed for those whohave determined that they want to pursue their veterinary

nursing career with vigour. It contains information that is muchcloser to being suitable for veterinary surgeons than the long-established BSAVA textbook of veterinary nursing.

This manual maintains the standards set in previous BSAVAmanuals. There is the consistency of size, paper and binding thatwill allow it to sit on the practice shelf alongside its companionvolumes. There is the double-column clear type and the inter-spersed colour photographs or blue tables to grace nearly everypage. There are examples of forms. All the green summary boxeshave a consistent font and are used either at the beginning of eachchapter or with bullet lists to draw attention to materials, methodsor equipment. Pink boxes contain a warning and are found fre-quently throughout the endoscopy chapter but only rarely in twoother chapters.

As well as covering medicine and surgery, the chapters includeinformation on nutrition, physiotherapy, critical care, anaesthesia,dentistry, endoscopy, imaging, clinical pathology, practice admin-istration and animal behaviour. The chapter on nursing clinicsdemands particular attention by practice principals who wish toengage their competent staff in extension work with the public inthe many practices distant from metropolitan centres and whichare short of veterinarians.

The manual is hard to fault. In the dental chapter there is a formulain which the naming and numbering systems are confused andthere is greater clarity in the anaesthesia chapter on the use andplacing of endotracheal tubes. Red rubber tubes are shown beingused for dental procedures, even in the cat, whereas they are cor-

rectly dismissed in the earlier chapter on anaesthesia, although notincorporating the argument of difficulty of maintenance andreduced internal diameter compared with synthetic tubes, which isvery important with the smaller tubes. Many would take issue withthe recommendation of daily wet sterilisation of sharp dentalinstruments rather than between patients. No mention is made ofthe use of bones in dental home care, even if to be dismissed withmost of the other passive methods discussed.

I would take issue with the comment that digital radiography couldlead to greater exposure of staff to radiation, citing the ease ofcorrecting overexposure. In many practices conventional radiogra-phy results in multiple repeat exposures, posing a greater risk. Fur-thermore, there is an excellent description of positioningtechniques, which would minimise or eliminate staff having to holdanimals during exposure. Ethylene oxide sterilisation is discussedwithout any comment on occupational health and safety require-ments. Cryosurgery, though extensively used in practice, is notmentioned.

This book is an excellent extension manual for nurses studyingcertificate 5 or wishing to go into their chosen career in more depth.The clarity of expression by the multiple authors is to be com-mended. It would also be a useful compact revision manual oncurrent clinical standards for veterinary surgeons re-entering thesmall animal work force after a few years absence.

JA DavisJohn Aspley Davis is a small animal practitioner in a group practice

in Canberra that employs many nurses, and also a part-time teacherof veterinary nurses at the Canberra Institute of Technology.

doi: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2010.00562.x

EQUINE

EQU

INE

© 2010 The AuthorJournal compilation © 2010 Australian Veterinary Association Australian Veterinary Journal Volume 88, No 5, May 2010 185