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Success Story of Dakota Wills

 

......................Dakota a 10 month old miniature poodle was presented by her owners because they were concerned that she may have eaten a small rubber ball. The owners were watching her play with her new multicolored high bouncing rubber ball when it suddenly disappeared and assumed that she must have swallowed it. Although she was having no difficulty at the time, we examined Dakota and took an x-ray which confirmed the owner's suspicion. The missing ball was revealed on her x-ray to be within her stomach. It was clear that Dakota was not going to be able to pass the ball with an intestinal obstruction being the likely outcome. The only solution was to remove the ball, BEFORE it became a larger problem.  The conventional method of removing the ball would have required surgery; an incision through the body wall then another into the stomach, followed by careful closure to ensure no contamination of stomach contents into the abdomen or incision site occurred. Postoperative complications can occur including pain, infection, delayed wound healing or breakdown of the incision. Alternatively a non-invasive method ideally could be performed using a video endoscope. This method uses a flexible scope carrying a camera and a high intensity light which can navigate down the mouth, esophagus and into the stomach where forceps can be delivered through it's working channel to remove foreign objects from its contents. The problem is that the ball is too large and round making grasping extremely difficult even with a wire basket which is designed for this type of foreign body retrieval.  Although we had the technology available we still needed to become "creative" to accomplish the task at hand. We needed to fabricate then introduce into the stomach a “fishing” net large enough to allow a 1 inch ball to be scooped into its opening which could then be gently pulled through the delicate lining of the stomach and esophagus.  With the use of a Trojan® latex condom, provided by one of our ever ready licensed veterinary technicians, we were able to successfully and traumatically capture the ball within the condom's chamber and deliver the ball from Willow's stomach without any invasive surgical intervention. Willow recovered from anesthesia uneventfully and returned home to his family that same day. Everyone was truly excited to be able to avoid a major surgical procedure and employ a non-invasive approach to solving Willow's problem. 

Here's what the Will family had to say about their experience:

We are so grateful to your entire staff for their innovative and tender care of North Dakota.

Thank you –
The Wills Family

Dear Friends,

Well, as you have all heard by now, North Dakota swallowed a superball last evening!
He is home recovering comfortably from laparoscopic surgery. We originally presumed that he would need invasive surgery to remove the ball from his stomach but, thanks to the quick thinking of Dr. Gittelman, it was successfully taken out with the aid of a condom!! Doctors have used surgical gloves tied to the end of a laparoscope to remove objects from animals’ stomachs before. However, N. Dakota is too small to fish a glove down his throat. Debating about whether to try cutting a finger off a glove, half joking, the doctor thought of a condom. (It is narrow and already lubricated!) The idea worked like a charm. Dakota’s stomach was completely empty, with the exception of the ball, and it scooped up easily into the receptacle. When I arrived at the office to retrieve Dakota, I found him to be quite popular, today. Everyone apparently witnessed the procedure and were excited that the doctor had saved such an adorable little patient from invasive surgery!
I am very grateful to the staff of Animal Medical of New City, especially Dr. Gittelman’s quick thinking and Danielle’s preparedness!

Sincerely,
         Aliza

Ultrasound

 

Ultrasound is used for a variety of applications in veterinary medicine. At Animal Medical we use ultrasound imaging for non-invasive diagnosis of organ dysfunction. With the use of this technology our patients can be evaluated comfortably and safely without the use of anesthetics or injectable dyes. It has become the mainstay for assessing cardiac function, and studying the internal architecture of abdominal organs. Liver, kidney, spleen, pancreas, urinary bladder, prostate, lymph nodes, lymph nodes, muscles and tendons can all be evaluated with the use of this technology. All of our doctors have spent years training in the use of this modality. We also offer therapeutic ultrasound for the treatment of soft tissue injuries and is described in more detail in our Rehabilitation Therapy Section (link)

 

New Equipment: Bair Hugger™® Temperature Management

 

Preventing anesthetic complications: Many of our clients
are concerned about the risks of anesthesia and often
postpone needed elective procedures due to these concerns.
We share these concerns and over the years have
continuously upgraded our anesthetic protocol to keep pace
with the standards of the profession. Today we utilize the safest gas anesthetics available and each patient is monitored by dedicated licensed animal health technicians for blood pressure, temperature, oxygen blood levels and to ensure adequate fluid and ventilatory support. In addition, we have recently added a new piece of equipment that offers a major safety margin for your pet by maintaining its normal body temperature.
One of the biggest obstacles the veterinary anesthetist faces is hypothermia.
This drop in body temperature slows heart rates, drops blood pressure and can
result in increased post-surgical infection rates. Although we have always
attempted to minimize these changes, we now have the technology to prevent
intraoperative/postoperative hypothermia. We are using the Bair Hugger®
temperature management system, a warming therapy used extensively in human
pediatric and adult surgery. When the patient is placed under general anesthesia,
a special blanket envelopes their body and delivers a continuous gentle flow of
warm air. In addition, we use a Bair Hugger accessory device to warm
intravenous fluids administered to the patient during the procedure, which also
helps to maintain normal body temperature.
Since using this system in our practice, patients have emerged from
anesthesia faster, more alert, and with minimal drops in body temperature. So
rest assured, we at Animal Medical care the most and spare no expense at
providing your pet with the best possible care in veterinary medicine. Feel free to
ask for a demonstration; we would be happy to show you.

Sevofluorane. . Is It Worth The Cost?

 

The newest introduction to veterinary anesthesia is a new inhalant anesthetic, Sevofluorane. As a quick primer, veterinarians typically use injectable sedatives, tranquillizers and pain relievers to "prepare" a pet for anesthesia. In some situations, this may be adequate to provide the gentle restraint needed to perform certain minor surgical or diagnostic procedures i.e. x-rays or minor lacerations. If additional restraint is needed, an injectable anesthetic may be administered but these are usually short acting and if sufficient time cannot be provided by this route, then it is generally accepted at this point to administer an inhalant (gas) anesthetic.
Over the past 20 years, we have been diligent about upgrading to the most advanced form of inhalant anesthetics available. Recently, with the introduction of Sevofluorane we have added another tool in providing as safe an anesthetic an experience as possible for your pet. This new anesthetic allows for faster transitions and recoveries from anesthesia. In addition, it can easily be administered with a fitted mask, similar to the way it is applied in children. The gas is pleasant smelling and allows for smooth inductions without the need for additional injectable anesthetics which may result in postoperative drowsiness and disorientation.
There is a premium, however, to be paid for the use of Sevofluorane as any drug that is new is also more expensive. In addition, it does not offer a quantum leap in safety margin over Isofluorane which has been the gold standard in inhalant anesthesia. Rest assured that regardless which anesthetic we chose, the doctors at Animal Medical of New City will make the best choice for your pet.

 

Wireless intensive care patient monitoring

 

We have recently introduced a telemetry system which allows the doctors to monitor you pet while under anesthesia using any computer within our local area computer network. Your pet's critical values are recorded automatically into each workstation while your pet is under anesthesia creating a permanent record of their anesthetic log. In addition we can remotely and continuously monitor your pet's electrocardiac activity while hospitalized in our ICU ward.

Laser Surgery

 

Laser Surgery Comes to Animal Medical

Did you know that if your pet has surgery at Animal Medical of New City, PC that it is most likely being performed with a surgical laser. Lasers work by emitting a high-energy beam of focused light that vaporizes water contained within living organisms. There are many different types of laser; some are intended to cut or vaporize tissue; these are surgical lasers. Others penetrate deep within tissues and are absorbed by injured tendon’s and muscles thus exerting a therapeutic effect promoting healing and decreasing inflammation.
We began using a carbon dioxide surgical laser in 2002 and quickly found it to be an indispensable tool. The advantages of this tool is it allows for precise control of the surgeon’s incision, significant reduction in bleeding in most cases and less pain due to it’s ability to seal nerve endings as it cuts. The post operative recovery is usually smoother due to less collateral damage and swelling that typically accompanies conventional cold steel surgery. Due to the increased precision inherent in this tool and the decreased swelling associated with this technique many procedures that were previously associated with high morbidity are now possible and with a reduced complication rate. This translates into a shorter hospitalization stay and a more rapid return to function. To learn more about laser surgery ask one of our staff members for a demonstration or see: www.accuvet.com

 

Endoscopy

 

We continue to add to our extensive array of endoscopic equipment which allows us to make diagnosis which previously would have required a major surgical procedure to obtain the same information. We have flexible video endoscopes which place a tiny computer camera on the end of a flexible scope which is passed into the patients body and allows us to view, biopsy and even remove structures and foreign bodies from patients while under anesthesia; all of this is possible without ever making an incision. Your pet wakes up and goes home the same day and results usually return within 3 business days. We also have rigid endoscopes for examining the nasal passage in pets with chronic nasal disease. Pets afflicted with chronic urinary tract infections, stones, or incontinence can be evaluated and treated with our rigid cystoscope. Chronic external ear infections often caused by middle ear disease can now be evaluated earlier in the course of their disease by using our video otoscope; this has made a huge impact on the outcome of patients with chronic otitis externa/interna

Virtual Boarding

 

Yes you can visit with your pet while they are boarding at Animal Medical. Real time petcams are now available for select boarding accommodations. Please ask one of our client care representatives for details. For the month of September as a special promotion virtual boarding is available at no additional charge. This service is available on a first come first serve basis and availability is limited. Go there now!