In my experience, exotic pet patient management usually involves innovation and creativity. Many aspects of exotic pet medicine and surgery are either unexplored or new, which implies that the clinician must extrapolate from small animal companion medicine or think outside of the box. One of the great examples in our field is the advent of endoscopic coelioscopy in the avian patient. This examination method was a perfect blend of anatomic specificity knowledge, use of a technological device (a rigid cystoscope) deviated from its original purpose, clinician technique, and imagination. This innovation is now considered a standard procedure in most avian practice.
This issue develops several aspects related to new technologies in exotic pet practice. "New" is always a relative term, and it is expected that techniques developed in each article will become more and more common until they become completely integrated in our practice. Some of those technologies described may fall into oblivion, probably because of their limited use, or because we would have found another way to treat disease. Some other major technologies not mentioned in this issue may arise in the next few years and become very important. Future is a difficult prediction.
The issue focuses on all aspects of veterinary medicine: diagnostics (diagnostic imaging, endoscopy, clinical pathology), surgical aspects such as development of bone plating, 3D medical printing, permanent implantable medical devices, soft tissue surgery, wound management, and other conventional aspects, such as anesthesia and therapeutics. A special article has been created for herpetology, which may benefit from the technological advances. More specifically, this issue also develops some aspects related to smartphones use in veterinary medicine and Internet.
Most of the data developed in this issue are not specific to the exotic patient. Evidence-based data and research still need to grow. I hope that reading this issue will encourage creativity, help to communicate with medical engineers, give perspectives, and stimulate research projects for providing enhanced medical care in the exotic pet patient.
Ultimately, I will never stress enough that technology cannot replace veterinarian skills. The art of veterinary medicine is based on experience and clinical sense, not on technology. Care must be taken to treat clinical signs rather than data and to use the best technique rather than the newest technique.
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