A comparison of the surgical caseloads of selected companion animal hospitals and a veterinary academic hospital in South Africa

Educational institutions should be aware of the frequency of surgical procedures in private practice, to assist both the student and the lecturer in evaluating the relative importance of procedures and to structure training programmes accordingly. The surgical caseload for 1 year at a veterinary academic hospital and 13 private companion animal hospitals registered with the South African Veterinary Council were compared. Surgical records were entered into a spreadsheet and sorted according to 96 selected surgical procedures to facilitate comparisons. Surgical procedures were in turn grouped according to date, species, degree of difficulty and frequency of occurrence. Feline procedures were more commonly performed in private hospitals. The academic hospital's caseload was dominated by major and advanced procedures while the private hospitals carried out more minor procedures. At the private hospitals more general surgery, and ear, nose and throat surgery as well as dental procedures were performed, while at the academic hospital more ophthalmic, orthopaedic, thoracic and neurosurgical procedures were carried out. The most commonly performed procedures at the academic hospital differed from those at the private hospitals. No seasonal trends were evident.