Diet Beats Surgery For Urolith RemovalMarch 18, 2011 For years, Jody P. Lulich, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, and his colleagues at the Minnesota Urolith Center have strongly advocated for non-invasive dissolution of uroliths in cats. Struvite is the most common urolith in cats, accounting for about 46 percent of feline urinary stones, according to data from the Minnesota Urolith Center. And for struvite uroliths, non-invasive nutritional management is the most effective treatment, Dr. Lulich says. Dietary dissolution is more compassionate and carries less risk, Lulich notes. For the owner, it’s less stressful than seeing her beloved companion undergo general anesthesia, and much less costly. Surgical or laser removal of uroliths can cost upward of $2,000. Newer research suggests that not only can nutritional management work more quickly than was previously established, but that even a food designed for long-term maintenance of urinary tract health can dissolve struvite uroliths, too, says S. Dru Forrester, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVIM. Forrester is a scientific affairs representative at Hill’s Pet Nutrition of Topeka, Kan. Hill’s special dietary formulas, even dry versions, can dissolve struvite stones in as little as two weeks in some cats, Forrester says, eliminating the expense, pain and stress of surgical options. “It’s …
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Third-party Financing Can Help Clients PayFebruary 3, 2011 It’s long been a tradition in the veterinary community to discount services for a sick or injured animal, especially when pet owners’ emotions are running high and pocketbooks are perceived to be low. A recent survey by veterinary consultants Tracy Dowdy, CVPM, and Shelley Johnson, CVPM, finds that veterinarians are sacrificing substantial revenue that could be saved through promoting third-party financing, such as ChaseHealthAdvance client financing, and pet insurance options to their clients. Dowdy is founder and managing director of MRG Consulting LLC in Dallas and Johnson is founder and owner of Company 42 LLC in Winchester, Va. The two conducted a survey of members of the National Committee of Veterinary Economic Issues and the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association asking how veterinary hospitals give discounts for services. The query was divided into two parts: planned discounts and unplanned discounts. Planned Vs. Unplanned Planned discounts are part of the practice’s strategic marketing plan. Many practices offer predetermined reduced rates for seniors, employees, good neighbors, community partners, special promotions and other situations. Most practice management software programs even have built-in measurement tools to track these discounts. Unplanned discounts are those that veterinarians or practice managers …
New Healant Helps Corneal WoundsJanuary 21, 2011 John Moss, DVM, has treated many animals, mostly dogs, suffering from corneal ulcers during his 30-plus years of practice. But part of what prompted him to consider new treatment solutions was something both simple and personal–he developed an indolent ulcer himself. “It really, really hurt,” says Moss, owner of Brandywine Valley Veterinary Hospital in Coatesville, Pa. “I think these dogs suffer the same way. I’ve always been aggressive on treating corneal ulcers, but now I don’t hesitate to be even more aggressive.” In searching for ways to accelerate healing, Moss began adding a cross-linked hyaluronan wound healant to his treatment protocol, a step he first tried in late 2009 with a boxer with a stubborn recurring ulcer. Within days, the treatment worked where months of traditional antibiotics and other treatments had failed, Moss says. Now, “I use it as my first-line treatment with most corneal ulcers, especially in boxers,” he says. The new-generation corneal wound healants accelerate healing time, cutting it to as little as 48 hours, while also alleviating pain and reducing the risk of scarring, says Heidi Lobprise, DVM, Dipl. AVDC, senior technical manager at Virbac Corporation in Fort Worth, Texas. Virbac is introducing …
Charting CDS Science And Looking To The FutureJanuary 21, 2011 There are scores for evaluating patients with dental problems, for overall body condition and for distinguishing levels of pain. Why not a means for scoring the cognitive condition of aging pets? The idea is just one of the potential steps forward addressing cognitive decline in animals. And as Ken Lambrecht, DVM, considers the growing possibilities, he gets more and more excited. “We are just in the infancy of diagnosis and treatment,” he says, “but it’s encouraging that we’re seeing new options that reflect an evidence-based approach.” Each step in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction syndrome, or CDS, can mean a substantial advance in quality of life, says Dr. Lambrecht, founding owner and clinical medical director at Westside Family Pet Clinic in Madison, Wis. The AAHA-accredited small-animal practice sees a healthy number of senior patients. That’s why Lambrecht champions early detection and has added questions about cognitive function to every six-month senior wellness exam he and his clinic colleagues perform. At Westside, the list of options for addressing cognitive issues has included Anipryl tablets and Hill’s Prescription Diet Canine b/d. To that list, the doctors have added a new chewable dietary supplement, Neutricks by Madison-based …
CR Imaging Is Affordable Digital OptionJanuary 21, 2011 When a veterinarian wants to take the leap from analog X-ray to digital imaging, the decision usually comes down to one central question: Computed radiography (CR) or direct digital radiography (DR)? A growing number of veterinarians have found that CR systems are becoming an easy, viable and—at about half the price of DR systems—more affordable way to enter the digital world. CR systems use a phosphor plate, instead of film, to capture images. The cassette is inserted into a CR reader, which scans the plate and produces a digital image on a computer screen. (Some lower-end systems require manual removal of the imaging plate before the plate is scanned.) The image can be manipulated, e-mailed, archived and printed. DR systems, which usually use flat-panel detectors either retrofitted to an X-ray table or included in a new X-ray table, skip the secondary processing step and produce an image directly from the panel. But for some veterinarians, especially those with start-up practices, the expense can be a deal breaker. Cost Considerations Practice manager Lisa Jendrasek jokingly calls herself a bona-fide expert after her extensive research exploring systems for Deer Run Animal Hospital in Schererville, Ind. “Digital …
Minimal Marketing Spend, Max ResultsJanuary 21, 2011 It’s not enough anymore to place an ad in the Yellow Pages and count on referrals from existing clients to market a veterinary practice. The Internet has changed the way people search for all types of businesses, including veterinarians. It’s time for most veterinary practices to reassess what they are doing and make new marketing decisions. It’s not as hard as you might think; keep in mind that marketing is really about understanding what your clients want and need and communicating how you can meet their needs in ways that are relevant and appealing to them. People in medical professions are often uncomfortable with marketing. They often have companies knocking on their doors promising quick-fix, instant-result marketing programs. Most medical people do not have the training or expertise to make these decisions and can make costly and ineffective choices. Marketing should get the phone to ring and the door to swing, retain existing clients and attract new ones. The key is identifying marketing efforts that will produce the best results for the lowest investment. A good place to start is to assess what your colleagues are doing and compare your marketing activities to …
Supplement Joins Fight Against CDSDecember 15, 2010 It starts with the unexpected. Perhaps an incident of house soiling that’s totally out of character. Or a lack of response when a dog is called by name. Maybe some aimless wandering, a new phobia, or dazed and anxious looks when entering a familiar place. These are symptoms of cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS), a condition of aging that some veterinary practitioners say deserves increased attention in pets, especially now that new tools for treatment are emerging. The latest option is Neutricks, a chewable dietary supplement designed to protect brain cells and combat cognitive decline in pets. Released in November as the first product from Quincy Animal Health of Madison, Wis., Neutricks uses the same technology as Prevagen, which was developed by Quincy Bioscience and has been shown to help people suffering from age-related congitive decline. At the heart of Neutricks is the patented protein apoaequorin, first discovered in 1962 in a species of jellyfish. The idea is that as aging pets stop producing calcium-binding proteins and start to lose brain function, the apoaequorin in Neutricks acts as a replacement protein. So far, clinical and lab testing have yielded positive results. Research Discoveries A …
Laser Promotes Faster Healing, Less ScarringDecember 15, 2010 Patient Benji is a friendly 5-year-old, 6-pound Pomeranian who loves to make his neighborhood rounds unencumbered by a leash. Problem Dog owner Selda King of Stuarts Draft, Va., let Benji out one morning, regrettably unleashed. Benji came home with huge gaping wounds, the victim of an attack by another dog. After assessing his extensive soft-tissue injuries and loss of skin, emergency veterinarians didn’t give the little dog much hope of recovery. They recommended euthanasia. King refused to accept that recommendation and persuaded David Parker, DVM, at her usual veterinary clinic, Clair Park Animal Hospital, to perform surgery to close Benji’s wounds. Dr. Parker tried to stitch up three large wounds but the skin kept falling away. A life-threatening second surgery attempted to minimize the size of the wound. Clair Park veterinary technicians visited Benji at home to change his dressings every day, hoping for the best. While they waited to see how Benji would recover, King’s friends and neighbors set about collecting money to pay for the expensive surgery and medications as well as the extensive treatment that would be required while the little dog healed. …
Some Hows And Whys Of Laser TherapyDecember 15, 2010 If you are not convinced by now that laser phototherapy will help your patients, ask one of the tens of thousands of U.S. pet owners whose pets now live pain free after their laser treatments. If you are not convinced that laser therapy will help your practice, ask one of the thousands of veterinarians whose revenue has grown since incorporating a laser into their practices. The question now should be,“Which laser is best for me?” Differences between commercially available laser units lie solely in the wavelength, power density, pulse modulation and aesthetics. From these parameters, you can derive the penetration depth, dose distribution, treatment time and the estimated biological effect. No single magic wavelength or setting is the cure for a disease, and to claim otherwise (as some distributors or sales reps do) is irresponsible. There are, however, certain operating regimens, such as those from K-Laser USA, that give better results than others and are more effective for particular symptoms. And because the primary mechanism of action is the stimulation of the patient’s immune system, the range of symptoms for which this modality is useful knows no bounds. Educating yourself about the …
