JULY 14, 1SS3
CaesareaEs on. soys
lotion
SUMMER NEBRASKAN
1
BY ROBIN STANOSIIECK
Inside a large, clear plastic bubble,
black-gloved hands work skillfully. A cylin
der of white light illuminates the side of a
large, pink sow. A pig is giving birth by cae
sarean section.
Dr. Richard Porter, the surgeon, is work
ing in a sterile environment, prepared by
Chuck New, coordinator for the Specific
Pathogen Free Lab.
The SPF Laboratory, housed in the Vet
erinary Animal Research Building on East
Campus, works to isolate and treat hog dis
eases. Through their findings they are im
proving hog production statewide.
As part of their program SPF employees
do caesarean sectons in sterile environ
ments for area hog producers. This process
keeps the piglets away from the mother and
her diseases. The hog producers use these
pathogen-free animals for breeding pur
poses. Although the initial cost is high so are
the potential profits.
New prepared the 12-foot plastic bubble
by ironing shut the ends of a long, plastic
cylinder. Inside the bubble he placed sterile
surgical instruments and germ-free boxes to
house piglets. He attached four sets of rub
ber gloves to the bubble with the use of
metal rings and heavy tape. The bubble was
then filled with formaldehyde gas to kill any
germs.
Before surgery the bubble is glued to the
sow's side with surgical adhesive. When the
veterinarian makes his incision the piglets
are delivered into a sterile world.
Piglets delivered in this manner are free
of diseases common to pigs: pseudorabies,
swine dysyntery, mycoplasma pneumonia,
atrophic rhinitis, mange and lice.
Earlier the sow was tied to the operating
table. It is now given a local anesthetic. The
veterinarian makes an incision in the sow's
side. The uterus is pulled out complete with
piglets. Porter makes a short incision in the
uterus and pulls out the piglets one at a
lime, shaking each and cutting their umbili
cal cords. The sow has two uteruses. Only
one incision in each is needed to pull pigs
through.
As he pulls each piglet out he hands them
through the bubble to Chris Oltman, a certi
fied veterinary technician. Porter repeated
this procedure 11 times. The black-gloved
hands of assistants, Chuck New and Lori
Grammer took the pigs from Oltman,
cleaned them and clamped their umbilical
cords. While still in the bubble the cords
were trimmed, tied and dipped in iodine.
"Ears are notched for identification and
teats counted," Grammer said. The piglets
were then put into sterile boxes for transfer
back to the farm.
After the piglets were delivered, the plas
tic sack attached to the sow was tied off
from the rest of the bubble. Porter then
began sewing up the uterus and the animal's
side.
The operation took one-and-a-half hours.
"The farmer needed only three boars,"
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New said, "the rest will be used for re
seal ch."
. Those that the farmer takes home will be
kept in a germ-free environment for about a
month, "Most pigs weigh 10 to 20 pounds by
the time they go home," New said.
Francis Kreifel from Dunbar, Neb., hired
the SPF lab to perform the caesarean
operation so he could start a germ-free
herd. The animals will be kept in a clean en
vironment and he will not have to repopu
late for five to ten years.
By keeping these special pigs out of con
tact with those who have chronic diseases,
he will be able to reduce disease in his herd.
Although the initial investment in SPF
animals is high, Kreifel will be able to sell
his pigs as breeding stock for about $100
more a head than conventional animals.
"It costs the farmer $200 for the caesar
ean and $110 for all animals he takes home,"
New said.
Dr. Porter said caesareans are also done
on cows, sheep and goats at the SPF lab.
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Lori Grammer, Chuck New and Chris Oltman assist
Dr. Richard Porter in C-section surgery on a sow.
Photo by A.J. Kunce
Death penalty same after court ruling
BY LARRY SPARKS
A recent Supreme Court ruling allowing
federal appeals courts to expedite execution
procedures for death-row inmates will not
have an immediate impact in Nebraska, ac
cording to a state official.
In a 6-3 decision July 6, the justices said
federal courts do not have to postpone ex
ecutions of inmates pushing appeals.
Those on death row must make a sub
stantiall showing that they have been de
prived of some federally ensured right be
fore being granted a postponement, the high
court said.
Nebraska Assistant Attorney General
Kirk Brown said death-penalty appeals go
through three major stages. Although he has
not read the court's ruling, he said it appar
ently will apply only when cases are being
appealed to the U.S. Circuit Court of Ap
peals. Brown, who handles all of the state's
death-penalty cases, said four or five of
them are in the federal courts now, but none
has reached the Circuit Court of Appeals.
The first one to reach that stage, he said,
may be Harold Otey, convicted in 1977 of
murder and sexual assault in Omaha. U.S.
District Court might rule on the case by the
end of the year, Brown said.
"If district court denies him a writ of
habeas corpus, I would assume that he
would take it to the 8th Circuit Court of Ap
peals," Brown said.
While the ruling will not immediatly af
fect Nebraska, it could have a big impact in
several states where the death rows are
much larger, Brown said.
"While we have 12 on death row," he said,
"some states literally have hundreds con
demned to die."
States in the 5th and 11th U.S. Circuit
Courts of Appeals have especially large
death rows, he said, and some of the in
mates there are beginning to run out of ap
peals. Brown said the three steps of death-penalty
cases are a direct appeal, an appeal
through the state court system and one
through the federal court system.
Once an inmate is convicted of murder
and is given the death sentence, he has an
automatic appeal to the state supreme
court. If he loses there, he may apply to the
U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari.
The high court usually won't hear a case
at this stage, Rrown said, so it returns to the
state district court for post-conviction ac
tion. :
In this appeal, he said, the defense
presents new constitutional matters. If the
state district court does not grant a writ of
habeas corpus, the defendant again has the
right to apply for certiorari from the U.S.
Supreme Court.
If the justices still refuse to hear the
case, the appeal enters its final stage,
Brown said. The defendant applies for a writ
of habeas corpus from U.S. District Court. If
he fails, he may appeal to the U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals and finally, to the U.S. Su
preme Court.
Nebraska will not be affected by another
part of the Supreme Court's ruling which al
lows states to use psychiatrists to testify
about a convicted murderer's future danger
ousness before sentencing, Brown said.
He said Nebraska is consistent with most
states in that it does not use predictions in
its sentencings. Many people consider the
process unreliable, he said.
"It's not always predictable what a per
son will do in the future," Brown said. "But
we know what a person's past history has
been."
Five states Idaho, Oklahoma, Texas,
Virginia and Washington currently use
psychiatric predictions. The court's decision
allows the slates to continue the practice.
Imperial man killed
in accident on farm
IMPERIAL (AP) - An Imperial man,
Albert Bremer, was killed Tuesday in an ac
cident on his farm just west of here, Chase
County Attorney Guy Curtis said Wednes
day. Curtis said that the accident involved a
combine.
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