Banishing The Bane Of BandagingOctober 27, 2011 “Bandaging is the bane of my world.” These words were recently spoken by Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, the world-renowned veterinary orthopedic and neurosurgeon. This echoes the sentiment of many in our profession. Bandages are ancient, dating back to the early Egyptians, and many chapters in veterinary texts and even entire books are dedicated to their design and application. Although many other areas of veterinary medicine have radically changed, bandaging techniques have changed little. How many of the bandages you have recently applied look like something out of King Tut’s tomb? The materials that we now commonly use—such as Vet-Wrap, Elasticon, nonadherent semi-occlusive sponges, hydrogel dressing and calcium alginate dressing—have superior properties for bandaging and have replaced white linen strips and cotton batting. The aural compression bandage. Yet we still use some techniques from the King Tut days with honey- or sugar-based bandages. We would all like bandaging to be a science, masterable by the majority of practitioners simply by exact and consistent following of a set of well-understood steps. The reality is that it is currently more like an art, where skill and imagination applied to basic materials are uniquely combined. Two …
SPONSORED CONTENTYear-Round Tick Control is ImportantEmpower dog owners to protect their dogs with protection approved by the FDA for the prevention of Lyme infections in dogs as a direct result of killing black-legged ticks. + Learn More
Case Study: Managing Feline Hyperthyroidism With NutritionOctober 21, 2011 Veterinarians have a new option in feline hyperthyroidism management: nutrition. Until now, they have typically relied on radioactive iodine, thyroidectomy and antithyroid drugs, options that can prove expensive and have varied side effects. This new therapy is expected to transform the management of feline hyperthyroidism, according to Hill’s Pet Nutrition Inc. of Topeka, Kan., which is launching Hill’s Prescription Diet y/d Feline Thyroid Health in both dry and wet formulations this month. Chad Dodd, DVM, a senior brand manager for Hill’s, said the company has spent about 10 years studying the relationship between dietary iodine and feline hyperthyroidism. The theory was if iodine is an essential component of all thyroid hormones, then limiting dietary iodine in hyperthyroid cats would result in normalization of circulating thyroxine concentrations. Hill’s studies proved the theory correct. A technician and Dr. David Bruyette examine Billy while owner Judy Bernath looks on. The next task was manufacturing a pet food that was limited in iodine content without being iodine deficient. The result: Prescription Diet y/d Feline. The therapeutic pet food has an iodine content of 0.1 ppm – 0.3 ppm, compared to 1.5 ppm - 99 ppm found in …
Recapping A Bit Of AVMA St. LouisSeptember 28, 2011 The American Veterinary Medical Association Convention in St. Louis provided a forum for numerous aspects of our profession. Philippe Cousteau presented a vital keynote address with awe-inspiring videos advocating global clean water and a sustainable earth. AVMA marked World Veterinary Year with a display created by Dr. Fred Born of the American Veterinary Medical History Society honoring the 250th anniversary of the first veterinary school in Lyon, France. Dr. J.F. Chary, the president of Vet2011, opened a full day symposium with Drs. Pappaioanou, Gorczyca, B.A. Miller, Vallat, Deem, Jessup, Vroegindewey, and Mazet, covering history, public health, wildlife and disaster response for improving global One Health. The Leo Bustad Companion Animal Award went to Dr. Nancy Kay, Dipl. ACVIM, for her book, “Speaking for Spot,” and her devotion to helping pet owners learn more about the health, care and well-being of their companion animals. The prestigious award is sponsored by The Delta Society, AVMA and Hill’s Pet Nutrition. At next year’s AVMA convention in San Diego, Dr. Kay will present the Bustad Memorial Keynote Lecture to kick off the human-animal bond sessions organized by Dr. Robin Downing, president of the American Association of …
How To Be Found Above The Noise On The WebAugust 24, 2011 Your knowledge, experience, and commitment to your practice and community are exceptional. But that does not mean you can ignore a few new laws of nature. One: The Web is the way communications are done, now and for the foreseeable future. Two: There are a bazillion people on the Web (both users and businesses) and your grand entry will not be greeted with the fanfare you deserve. Three: To market your practice you must rely on the Web. Four: It is hard to be found on the web. If you really want to grow your business, even in a horrible economy, learning findability on the Web helps connect you with new clients. The SEO Process The term “SEO,” or search engine optimization, is a process that optimizes your site’s content to allow search engines to easily find you. It adds focused key words and phrases to your site so that when a user types in appropriate key words—there you are, at no cost to you. The goal of any smart marketer is to gain Page 1 visibility in a search tool such as Google. Page 3 may not be bad out of …
Verify Computer Backup For Best ResultsAugust 18, 2011 Most veterinarians are good about remembering to back up clients’ medical data, but critical steps are often missed. In-house backups are typically saved to CD, flash drive or internal and external hard drives, but information can be lost if these devices are damaged. “Veterinarians are good about backing up their daily client information, but many don’t verify that the information has saved properly,” says Ronald A. Detjen, president and CEO of ImproMed in Oshkosh, Wis. “It’s amazingly damaging to a practice when client data is lost. If they don’t have a secure offsite copy, they have to try to recreate the information.” Practice Backup Options According to John Bellos, technical support manager at Sneakers Software, Inc./DVMAX located in New York, three types of backup options are typical in veterinary practices. • On-server backup Backs up the current data to a local hard drive on the same computer. Good for: Quick access if the data file gets mangled by a power outage or a computer crash Bad for: Hard drive failures, fire or theft • Onsite backup, off-server storage device Good for: If main hard drive or computer …
Applications Of Therapeutic Laser In Everyday PracticeAugust 18, 2011 Advancements in technology provide practices with the versatility of laser therapy, which can relieve pain, reduce inflammation and increase microcirculation in tissues. Adding a therapeutic laser to the practice armamentarium provides an extremely effective and versatile modality that benefits many patients. Understanding and expanding the potential clinical applications within the practice is the key to providing the highest standard of care for your patients. Advanced engineering has allowed therapeutic lasers to accomplish relief of pain, a reduction of inflammation and an increase in the microcirculation within the tissues. The clinical outcome of this deep penetrating photobiomodulation is an accelerated healing time within the target tissues. Laser therapy, therefore, is a healing modality that can benefit a large and varied number of patients on a daily basis. Therapeutic Dosage Laser therapy can help pets in any number of ways. The World Association of Laser Therapy (2002) and a consensus of the literature have established that cells need 4 to 10 joules/cm2 to stimulate a positive photobiochemical response. Penetration through skin, hair, water and blood requires the right combination of power, wavelength and treatment time to achieve favorable clinical results. Superficial target …
Compounding Pharmacy Sets Its Site HighAugust 17, 2011 For those who order compounded medications from a pharmacy, the words “fun” and “easy” can sometimes seem far more than a click away. But when Wedgewood Pharmacy officials decided to create a brand new website to serve the veterinary community, the concept of enjoyment was right beside efficiency at the front of their thinking, said Marcy Bliss, executive vice president of Wedgewood, a compounder with more than two decades of experience. “We wanted it to be as fun and easy to make an appropriate selection as it is to buy shoes on Zappos,” said Bliss, referring to the online shoe seller famous for its customer service and the devotion of its clientele. Like customers who shop on the best consumer websites, Wedgewood veterinary clients want to swiftly maneuver through a large number of choices, Bliss said. It’s just that instead of size, style, color and price, they navigate dosage forms, strengths, flavors and quantities. Oh yeah, and price. “Our inventory includes 14,000 unique preparations and we’re adding a couple of hundred a month to meet veterinarians’ requests,” Bliss noted. “Any one chemical need might come in 10 dosage forms and 30 flavors. Those kinds of …
Has ‘Realty Reality’ Created More Pet Rest Homes?June 22, 2011 Most of us have been able to help clients who loved adopting one or two older pets. Many of these older pets were left behind due to the “no pets allowed” policy of rest homes that their owners moved into. Some were left behind when their owners died. It surprised me that the bond between the adopting person or family and the older pet was so strong. The bond was filled with as much love as if the pet was theirs since it was young. It surprised me how much love and money was poured into the older adopted pet to battle cancer or organ failure. There is a special compassion and kindness in these caregivers who rescue older animals. Veterinarians are seeing more pet lovers adopting older pets. Most of these kind-hearted caregivers feel that they are helping to save lives of wonderful, unfortunate animals. They are dutiful and care for their charges with love and attention. They seek professional medical care for their animals’ age-related conditions and ailments. Most good Samaritans who rescue older animals are able to keep a balanced life and maintain their jobs and personal affairs while providing proper care …
The Purebred ParadoxJune 22, 2011 Here in the U.S., we have a purebred problem: People demand them—millions of them. So someone supplies them via a pet shop, airport, website, breeding kennel or living room near you. Casual backyard breeders, puppy millers, importers, upscale breed club breeders ... someone. But, as they say, you can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. Herein lies the paradox: We all love dogs. We all want healthy, happy dogs. No responsible breeder wants to breed unhealthy dogs––this we know. • But it’s also true that no backyard breeder thinks that anything unhealthy will come of his or her ill-bred dogs’ union. No puppy miller or unscrupulous importer, even, wants to sell you a defective product. It’s bad for business. • Yet plenty of genetically ill-designed animals come from responsible breeders. Puppy millers breed dogs under woefully inadequate conditions. An increasingly alarming percentage of importers ship pups too young to be away from their mothers (much less travel). And the casual backyard breeder is still stuck on having her kids see the miracle of life happen, whatever the cost—or the death toll. • And the consumers? They’re willing to …
What Is An Animal And Why Should The Law Care?June 22, 2011 Arecent piece in the newly minted Journal of Animal Ethics suggests that the word “pet” is a derogatory term for the animals that we share our lives with. Whether this is the case—and I’m reasonably sure my dog Annie is not offended by the term, although she would probably prefer “princess”—a great deal of interest is being focused on our companion animals and the people who care for them. So while it might have been simple for Juliet, things are rarely that easy when it comes to the law. The law has many definitions for the word “animal.” Depending on the law in question, an animal might be a live (or dead) hamster, but not a rat, bird or mouse (the Federal Animal Welfare Act) or “every living creature except members of the human race” (the Minnesota Animal Cruelty statute). Books, Tables ... Dogs No matter which creatures fall into the legal definition of an animal, there is one thing they all have in common: They are all personal property under the law. That means that, in general, the legal rights a pet owner has in his pet are the same legal rights as he has …
