British Study Reveals 1.4 Million Pet Owners Give Their Pets Human Meds to Avoid Veterinary ExpensesMarch 9, 2016One of the biggest complaints veterinarians hear is that the cost of veterinary care is too expensive. While some pet owners get pet insurance, make payments or find some other means of paying for it, one-third of the 1,000 pet owners surveyed in a recent British study have taken matters into their own hands by giving their pets human medications rather than paying veterinary fees. The study, conducted by pet insurance company MORE TH>N, revealed that one in 11 pet owners have given their pets over-the-counter medication, including anti-histamines, paracetamol, antiseptic creams, ibuprofen and aspirin. According to the study, pet owners gave these medications to their cats and dogs for issues such as “injured paws to cuts to insect and nettle stings.” The pet owners also admitted giving their pets these medications an average of seven times over the last year. When asked why they gave human medication to their dogs and cats, 35 percent of the surveyed pet owners “claimed they were trying to avoid incurring vet costs, 21 percent didn’t feel the …
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Virginia Tech Researcher to Develop Porcine VaccineFebruary 23, 2016A researcher at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech has received at a two-year, $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to develop a new vaccine against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. The virus, first discovered in North America in 2013, has resulted in at least 10 million pig deaths, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). “The process starts in the laboratory here using molecular techniques to make genetic changes to the virus and test it in small-scale tissue cultures in the laboratory,” said Adam Rogers, Ph.D., a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology. “If we find a mutation or mutations that will make the virus non-pathogenic, then we will move onto an animal test. We are starting with the emergent American strain of the virus so that we will end up designing a vaccine specifically targeted to control the disease here.” Rogers’ mentor X.J. Meng, University Distinguished Professor of Molecular Virology, said that even though the researchers were using the emergent U.S. virus strain, a new vaccine based on the U.S. strain …
Why platelet-rich plasma is a pretty remarkable productFebruary 10, 2016Have you heard about platelet-rich plasma (PRP)? No, it’s not a drug, and it’s not a nutraceutical. It seems like one of the newest treatments to hit the pain medicine and rehabilitation field, but in actuality, PRP injection dates to the 1950s for treatment of dermatologic and oral maxillofacial problems in humans.
The Veterinary Surgeon's Dilemma: To Biopsy or Not Biopsy?February 9, 2016Let’s discuss two common dilemmas that are commonly encountered in everyday veterinary surgery. What is your philosophy when it comes to biopsies? Dilemma No. 1 Let’s pretend you need to perform a cystotomy on a patient. While tying the patient to the surgery table, your technician notices a firm, not-so-mobile 1-inch-diameter mass on the hock. While you are in surgery, a receptionist calls the owner to see if he wants you to excise the mass. He approves the extra surgery fee but declines the fee for histopathology despite your impression that the mass is malignant. What would you do? Clearly, some colleagues will remove the mass with no second thought. Others firmly believe that “if it’s worth taking out, it’s worth sending out.” What is the right thing to do? Being lenient? Being dogmatic? We asked a few specialists to share their thoughts. Veterinary pathologist Jim Walberg, DVM, Dipl. ACVP, of VetPath Services in Stone Ridge, N.Y., reminds us that in human medicine, where lawsuits are so prevalent, all excised tissues are sent to pathology. “Similarly, we should insist that any mass excised be evaluated histologically,” Dr. Walberg said. “In reality, cost is often …
What to do When Gums Overgrow Their BoundariesFebruary 8, 2016A 5-year-old male Rhodesian ridgeback presented to me for evaluation of proliferative gingival enlargement over the maxillary canine teeth. Historically, the owner noted a flap of partially detached gingiva over tooth 104, which had since become completely detached, resulting in the unique combination of gingival recession over most of the lateral portion of the tooth and gingival enlargement over the mesial, distal and palatal surfaces of the tooth (Figure 1). John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, Dipl. AVDC Figure 1: The right maxillary quadrant showing generalized gingival hyperplasia and gingival recession over the labial (vestibular) surface of the right maxillary canine tooth (tooth 104). Tooth 204 had a similar appearance, though more irregular, with a large circumscribed area of enlargement toward the distal portion of the crown (Figure 2). Nearly every tooth in the mouth was affected at least mildly by gingival enlargement, though the canines and incisors were affected most severely (Figure 3). The appearance of the gingiva over teeth 104 and 204 likely was due to the following events: Gingival enlargement results in pseudopockets. Pseudopockets allow for hair, plaque and debris to be trapped …
What You Need to Know About Pet PainFebruary 5, 2016Originally published in the February 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! Duncan X. Lascelles puts the importance of identifying pain in pets right up there with the best pharmaceutical pain killers on the market. The North Carolina State University professor and clinical pain-management expert sees promise in new health and activity monitors—“Fitbits for cats and dogs,” in his words—but he hasn’t abolished traditional measurement tools like the Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index (FMPI). Dr. Lascelles, BVSc, Ph.D., CertVA, believes the most useful developments in pain management will come with improved activity monitoring. “That area has a lot of potential,” said Lascelles, Dipl. ACVS, Dipl. ECVS. “It just needs to mature. I see a lot of potential in post-surgical monitoring, and also just monitoring pets in the home environment as they age and get more diseases.” Practitioners can’t go wrong, he said, with pain-grading scales like FMPI, which Lascelles helped develop at NCSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine. FMPI, now in its 10th version, is a questionnaire designed to help owners assess the severity of chronic pain in their …
Where's the research on animal chiropractic?January 21, 2016When you tried to find scientifically based information on the mechanisms of action with the search terms “chiropractic” and “spinal manipulative therapy (SMT),” you find yourself surprisingly empty-handed.
Why Gloves Can be Your No. 1 Weapon Against SSIsJanuary 20, 2016Originally published in the January 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! Surgical site infections, or SSIs, are a constant concern for surgeons and surgery lovers. Infection can lead to dissatisfaction, distress and even death (spontaneous or via euthanasia). Given the rise of nosocomial infections from drug-resistant bacteria, keeping infection prevention front and center is of ever-increasing importance. The prevention of SSIs can be visualized as a patient/pathogen/procedure triangle: Patient factors relate to the incision or the wound, tissue depth, systemic defenses and risk factors such as diabetes (at least theoretically) and malnutrition. Pathogen factors include the bacteria, their quantity and virulence. Procedure factors are those we should strive to control: antibiotic prophylaxis, hypothermia avoidance, gentle tissue manipulation and aseptic technique. Using aseptic technique includes appropriate surgical attire. Caps, masks, gowns and surgical gloves are the first line of defense against SSIs. Surgical gloves, however, are not invincible and can perforate. Unfortunately, this happens much more often than we suspect. Defects often are not noticed until the gloves are removed after surgery and blood is observed on a finger. Noticing …
What Veterinary Dentistry Trends and Tools to Look for in 2016January 13, 2016Originally published in the January 2016 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! I’m writing this as I return from the 29th annual Veterinary Dental Forum in Monterey, Calif. This year, the forum was combined with the 13th World Veterinary Dental Congress, so leaders in the field from around the world converged upon Monterey. Here are some of the hot trends and tools for 2016 that I noted at the conference. Dental Radiography and Dental Teleradiology More and more general practices are getting digital dental radiography, and with good reason. Dental radiography provides the necessary information to allow veterinarians to diagnose and treat oral diseases. Radiography also provides assurance that treatment has been successful. The most important thing to do once you purchase a dental radiography system is to use it. Every patient can benefit from dental radiographs. Learning radiographic positioning and radiographic interpretation takes time. Positioning can be learned with a site visit or by attending continuing education events. Learning positioning will require some practice with a skull or cadaver to master the intricacies of tube head positioning. …
How to Use an Allograft Membrane to Fix Oral TraumaJanuary 6, 2016Originally published in the December 2015 issue of Veterinary Practice News. Did you enjoy this article? Then subscribe today! Halo, an 8-week-old female pit bull mix, was presented as a referral to the Dentistry and Oral Surgery Department at North-Star VETS. Halo had been attacked by an adult pit bull, suffering injuries to her head and face. She was stabilized at a specialty hospital and sent to me for evaluation of fractures of her right maxilla and hard palate. A physical exam revealed normal findings except for mucoid discharge from the right nostril, sneezing and puncture wounds over the right muzzle. Halo refused a conscious oral examination. John Lewis, VMD, FAVD, Dipl. AVDC Figure 2: Initial suture placement of an allograft bone membrane before trimming the membrane to a size slightly larger than the size of the defect After preoperative CBC and chemistry screen proved to be unremarkable, Halo was placed under anesthesia for an oral examination. It revealed a defect of the palatine process of the maxilla and a large defect of the palatal soft tissue that should cover the hard palate (Figure 1). A right midmaxilla fracture extended …
