Giving subcutaneous fluids at home can dramatically improve the quality of life in pets with certain medical conditions. Cats with chronic kidney failure especially benefit from this procedure. Watch our Veterinary Technician Lauren as she shows you how to perform this procedure at home.
Medicating our pets, especially cats, can be a challenge. Our Registered Veterinary Technician Sarah will show you a few techniques to help outsmart your pet.
This interesting case involves a 8 year old Siberian Husky that was adopted from a rescue group that was based out of Texas. She was adopted at 18 months of age and was already spayed in Texas. The dog presented for recurring bloody discharge from the vulva, behaving like she was in heat and the vulva was slightly swollen similar to a dog going into heat.
Vaginal cytology was consistent with a dog who was going into heat and a specialized blood test (Anti-Mullerian Hormonal Test) was suspicious that the dog was truly going into heat despite being spayed.
It was opted to perform laparoscopy to assess the sites where the spay was performed. Laparoscopy is ideal for this since you can see the anatomy dramatically better than if the abdomen was open due to the magnification of the camera and having the brighter light source shining at directly what you are looking at. Laparoscopy is also significantly less invasive and less painful than making a large incision in the abdomen. The one side of the abdomen looked normal and the ovary was completely removed. However, when the other side was visualized, we could see a small piece of ovary that was still in place without any surrounding uterus since it was already removed.
Endoscopic forceps are holding up the ovarian pedicle and a small piece of ovary is still seen.
Arrows pointing at the ovarian tissue that should not be present in a spayed dog.
A Ligasure vessel sealing device is used to cauterize and cut the surrounding tissue to free up the ovary remnant.
The ovarian tissue just prior to being removed from the body with forceps.
As predicted, the swollen vulva shrunk within a couple of weeks and all bleeding stopped from the vulva. The dog also never showed any signs of heat ever again and began living like a normal spayed dog. Complications such as this are rare, but can occur at times if a surgeon is careless or hasty. It is also seen with inexperienced surgeons who may not understand the anatomy or have the experience of removing the entire ovary +/- uterus when spaying a dog.
This interesting case is an appreciation to some of the amazing dog rescue groups around the world. We happen to have a fantastic one right here in Niagara called the Pomeranian and Small Breed Rescue which is run by Silvana Alberton who is an extremely dedicated and caring person. Silvana is the President and Founder of this group and has been rescuing small breed dogs from all over North America since 2001. Often these dogs are in very poor shape or elderly and her goal is to give them the best quality of life possible for the remainder of their lives.
We have been fortunate enough to care for almost 200 of these rescued dogs over the years, which brings us to the story about Benji.
Benji is a 6 year old Chihuahua Mix (however suspected to be older) who was rescued from Texas in June 2019. He arrived in rough shape with severe dental disease and a pneumonia likely secondary to contracting kennel cough from being housed with so many other dogs travelling to Canada. While his pneumonia improved over the next couple of weeks, Benji’s appetite did not and blood work and x-rays revealed some kidney disease and an irregular dense foreign object in his stomach (see x-rays with the red arrows detailing the object).
It was opted to see if we could remove the object with an endoscope, which is a minimally invasive camera that travels into the stomach from the mouth. This would save him the pain of surgery if we had to remove the object by incising into his stomach. Luckily we were able to grasp the stone with endoscopic graspers and remove the stone orally. The graspers and the 2.5 cm stone are seen here passing through the esophagus.
We were able to also perform a dental procedure and remove numerous abscessed teeth during the same anesthesia. Benji made a dramatic recovery and was back to eating well and playing normally within a few days. We are happy to report that he has also been adopted and is now living the quality of life he deserves with his new family.
Silvana’s Pomeranian and Small Breed Rescue organization relies on fosters and funding from adoptions and donations. Find out more about this wonderful organization on their website at www.psbrescue.com
Without amazing organizations like this, Benji and thousands of other dogs in need of rescue, would not be with us.
Surgery is an unfortunate reality for most pets during their life time. Sometimes the surgery may be a routine spay/neuter, a dental procedure or even a surgical procedure for a serious medical issue. We continually strive to make ANY anaesthesia and surgery as safe as possible, regardless of our patient’s age.
We have just purchased the latest anaesthetic monitor that assists us with monitoring how well our patient is ventilating. For years we have had devices to monitor our patient’s blood pressure, heart rate and how well they are being oxygenated during surgery. We all produce carbon dioxide (CO2) in our bodies that needs to be released when breathing (ventilation). It is vitally important that this CO2 is properly eliminated in an anaesthetized pet by continuously measuring the CO2 released throughout each breath.
The capnograph is a non-invasive monitoring device that can provide split second information on ventilation (pulmonary function), blood flow, and equipment function. So if your pet does require an anaesthetic, we can make it even safer with the advent of this new capnography anaesthetic monitor.
Many of our clients like to use “Natural” or “Holistic” products on their pets. Many of these products are benign, but most have very little true scientific data proving their safety and efficacy when used on pets.
Oscar is a 16 year old gentle senior dog who has dozens of warts all over his body which is quite common in older pets. The owner heard about applying tea tree oil to the warts from a friend, so she purchased some from a health food store and applied it on all of Oscar’s warts. The next morning Oscar could not stand and was shaking and twitching from muscle spasms. The owner realized it must have been the oil and gave him a bath and brought him in to see us.
Oscar was very weak on initial exam and wouldn’t even raise his head. He was immediately started on intravenous fluids and given an IV injection of Methocarbamol to stop the muscle spasms. He was also given another bath to remove as much of the tea tree oil as possible. We took some blood and urine samples to assess the liver since tea tree oil can cause potential permanent liver damage. We also started him on a liver protectant supplement to help reduce this liver damage from occurring.
Oscar steadily improved over the next 48 hours and continued to make a complete recovery over the week. The liver values were re-checked in a month which were normal and the liver supplements were stopped. Tea tree oil is just one of the many products that can have serious toxic effects to dogs. Some dogs may tolerate small doses of tea tree oil without any problems at all, while others can have severe toxic side effects and may die from it. Just because it is a “Natural” product does NOT mean it is a “Safe” product. Arsenic is also a natural product in the environment, but we certainly wouldn’t give it to our pets…
Oscar after 48 hours of hospitalization and ready to go home.
Suzie is an adorable 6 year old mixed breed dog.
Her concerned owner brought her to us for evaluation of non-specific signs of reduced appetite and vomiting. Her physical exam revealed a swelling in her left groin area, which was suspected to be an inguinal hernia. An inguinal hernia is an opening of the abdominal cavity where fat and/or other abdominal organs can push out of the abdomen to the area under the skin in the groin. An abdominal ultrasound was performed the same night and it ruled out other causes of her signs and confirmed that she did have a hernia.
X-ray showing gas in her intestines prior to the trapped area of intestine.
The next morning Suzie was admitted for surgery. When the hernia was opened up, there were intestines trapped in the hernia causing an obstruction and the vomiting. To make things worse, the piece of trapped intestine was not receiving blood supply, causing it to die. An abdominal incision was made and the trapped intestine was released and the dead segment of intestine was removed and the healthy intestine was sutured together.
Dying segment of intestine that was trapped in hernia
Removal of the dying segment of the intestine.
Re-attachment of the healthy pieces of intestine.
The opening of the abdomen in Suzie’s groin was also sutured closed to repair the hernia. Thanks to the careful monitoring of our experienced veterinary technicians, Suzie did very well throughout the lengthy surgical procedure. Suzie remained hospitalized for a few days and was sent home with many medications to help her get better.
Due to the dedication of her loving owner, Suzie received the post surgical care and medications that she needed for a complete recovery. Suzie started eating well, she stopped vomiting and her energy level was similar to that of a puppy again. Suzie quickly gained weight and her incisions healed well. She is expected to have a normal life without any future complications from her repaired hernia.
Bloat or Gastric Dilatation and Volvulus (GDV) is a horrible disease that affects primarily large breed dogs. Larger breed dogs tend to have a deep chest which allows the stomach to become more mobile and potentially twist due to this increased mobility. The typical history involves a dog who has eaten a large meal or has drunken a lot of water and was too energetic prior or after this causing the stomach to twist. However, most large breed owners are aware of this condition and are very careful in preventing their dogs from exercising immediately after eating. Unfortunately, this condition also commonly occurs when all the precautions have been taken.
The incidence of GDV varies between breeds with the Great Dane having the highest risk with 37% of dogs affected. When a GDV does occur, it is an emergency condition that usually requires emergency surgery and a great deal of expense. Even when an emergency surgery is performed to correct the twisted stomach, approximately 1/3 of dogs will die despite the veterinarians best efforts.
Normal lateral abdomen X-ray showing the normal positioning of the organs.
X-ray showing a dog with Bloat (GDV) with the large distended stomach that has twisted and required emergency surgery
Prevention is key with this condition. In the past, a preventative surgery was far more invasive and required a large 12-15 cm incision. With the advent of Laparoscopy (or Key Hole Surgery, Minimally Invasive Surgery), the procedure is now far less invasive by using a small medical camera to find the stomach and surgically “tack” the stomach to the inside wall of the abdomen. This procedure can be performed along with a laparoscopic spay in female dogs through the same incision. It can also be performed the same time as a castration in male dogs, however separate incisions are needed. The procedure is highly effective in preventing this life threatening condition and dogs are typically kept over for one night in hospital and sent home the following day. The first 10 days require minimal exercise while the area heals and then they are allowed to resume their normal activity.
Appearance of the stomach being grasped by forceps to be sutured to the abdominal wall
Final appearance of the stomach sutured to the body wall to prevent twisting just prior to the gas being removed from the abdomen (to remove the tension)
Appearance of incisions after surgery. The dog had a laparoscopic spay at the same time.
Do not hesitate to call our office for an estimate, if you have any questions, or if you are wondering if this procedure would be ideal for your large breed dog at 905-354-5645.
