My time at the FECAVA EuroCongress – BSAVA President Julian Hoad

19 September 2024

Who wouldn’t want to swap the grey, gloomy, rainy UK for a trip to the historic city of Athens? And to attend the 29th Annual FECAVA Conference against the backdrop of Mount Lycabettus (277m, lovely cafe on the summit, free-ranging tortoises, view of the Acropolis…). What could be better?

The Conference was, as conferences are, a whirlwind of meeting up with old colleagues and friends and making new ones; of learning new facts and protocols and of swapping experiences of cases, business tips and anecdotes, but it’s more than that.

At a time when many in the veterinary profession are feeling stressed and anxious, with fears of job safety and a growing public antipathy in the face of the CMA investigation, this Conference reminds us that we are part of a profession that spans the world. It is our unique profession that allows us to chat with colleagues from countries we have only seen in atlases and within minutes be sharing case experiences and finding out that they have similar worries and frustrations – but also that they enjoy the same things. They have clients that are worthy of inclusion in a James Herriot story; they have cases that have had them guessing – with the same good (or bad) outcomes. It reminds us that we are part of a huge community, with the same basic outlook: we wish to make the lives of our companion animals better.

As is to be expected, the lecture streams reflect that:

Matt Rendle, RVN, spoke to a packed room about the fundaments of clinical nutrition for dogs and cats at varying life stages. Adina Valentine (RVN) gave an excellent talk about welfare minded blood sampling of pet mammals, with very practical tips for avoiding stress (for the animal and the nurse!).

Dr Vassilik Tsiali discussed the surgical treatment of soft tissue sarcomas in dogs and Dr Federico Fracassi gave a well-rounded talk about the options available to vets in the treatment of feline hyperthyroidism.

There was a real mix of lectures reflecting basic principles and knowledge, with some state of the art or new consensus treatment protocols (Professor Holger Volk gave a series of very informative and entertaining lectures on ideal drug regimen for dealing with status epilepticus, and some very practical tips for differentiating between peripheral and central vestibular disease).

We heard about the developing use of fluorescent markers in surgery, facilitating identification of metastatic disease and sentinel lymph nodes in cancer surgery, also about the use of spontaneous cancer models in companion animals as aids for the search for therapeutic alternatives in humans. Both lectures were by Professor Hilda de Rooster and were very inspirational. We also were treated to a look into the future, with a talk on AI applications in veterinary medicine by Dr Theodore Petanidis.

Dr Tricia Colville (former BSAVA President and BSAVA’s FECAVA representative) spoke about the role of leadership in creating a positive workplace culture in the Mental Health and Wellbeing stream.

The exhibition was lively and full of glitzy new technology, new diets and new drugs – also new books, with the BSAVA stand doing a lively trade in selling Manuals and Formularies to the masses! And at break and lunch times there was certainly a sufficient supply of coffee, tyropitakia (traditional Greek cheese pies), souvlakia (delicious skewered meats and vegetables) and baklava (plumptious syrupy walnut and filo pastries). The discussions and meetings with colleagues old and new continued late into the night – perhaps into the early morning too – and were aided by trips to restaurants selling delicious moussaka, gemista and kleftiko; with a little Greek wine and maybe a Metaxa or two. Gia Mas!