Twenty exceptional avian veterinarians from all around the world were nominated for the 2024 T.J. Lafeber Avian Practitioner of the Year Award. The independent Selection Committee narrowed this list to three finalists and the 2024 Avian Practitioner of the Year, Dr. Lauren V. Powers, was announced during the Plenary/Kickoff Session of the 45th Annual Conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians.
Dr. Lauren Powers is service chief of the Avian and Exotic Pet Service at Carolina Veterinary Specialists in the greater Charlotte, North Carolina area. Dr. Powers graduated with honors from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and completed a residency in avian medicine and surgery at North Carolina State University (NCSU-CVM). She has served as an adjunct assistant professor at NCSU-CVM since 2008. Lauren is board-certified in avian practice through the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. She was the 2011 and 2012 recipient of the Association of Avian Medicine President’s Award for Outstanding Service…In 2024, Dr. Powers was named the T.J. Lafeber Avian Practitioner of the Year.
Placement of an enteral feeding tube is a recognized method of supportive care, and the esophagostomy tube is an accepted route that is generally well tolerated by avian patients and relatively easy to place. In clinical patients, esophagostomy tube placement has been described in psittacine birds, raptors, and ostriches.
Esophagostomy tube placement is indicated in cases of severe beak trauma or disease, as well as diseases of the oral cavity or proximal esophagus, such as abscesses and neoplasia. Esophagostomy tubes may also be used to…
The avian patient poses special challenges for delivery of injectable medications. Although the techniques involved are not unique to birds, special knowledge of avian anatomy as well as delicate, proficient technical skills are required. Depending on the species, the individual, and the clinical situation, injections can be delivered by intramuscular, intravenous, intraosseous, subcutaneous, intratracheal, or intracoelomic routes. Parenteral drug administration provides the advantage of delivering a precise dose when a rapid therapeutic response is necessary. Disadvantages include stress as well as the potential irritation or pathology that can occur at the injection site.
Blood work is considered a basic diagnostic test in every species, including birds. Venipuncture may be indicated for wellness screening, sample collection for DNA sexing, evaluation of the ill or injured bird, as well as collection of blood for transfusion. The value of testing must always be weighed against the stress of venipuncture since the critically ill bird may not be stable enough for restraint. This article reviews equipment needed, the volume of the blood sample, general tips for blood collection, common venipuncture sites in the bird, and sample handling.
Abdominocentesis or coelomocentesis may be indicated for the accumulation of fluid within one or more of the peritoneal cavities. Peritoneal fluid can accumulate with a variety of diseases, including chronic liver disease, amyloidosis in waterfowl, iron storage disease in mynah birds and toucans, coelomic tumors in budgerigar parakeets, viral infections like Marek’s disease (resulting in cardiac tumors), peritonitis, congestive heart failure, ovarian cysts, and trauma. This article reviews the potential complications of this clinical technique, the equipment needed, sample handling, and cytodiagnosis.
