Monday, August 11, 2014

1450. SUBMITTED TO MVA - FINAL YEAR VET TALK NO. 7. NO IMAGES.





YOU CAN BE A VERY GOOD VET  IN MYANMAR
- Belief, Passion, Drive, Perseverance and Focus

Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS, Toa Payoh Vets, Singapore.
http://www.toapayohvets.com/

TALK TO FINAL YEAR VET STUDENTS
UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE, YEZIN, MYANMAR
Aug 15, 2014


PART 1.  INTRODUCTION

 I graduated from Glasgow University in 1974. I worked as an army vet (Guard and Tracker dogs), a government vet (pigs and poultry), a horse vet (racehorses) and a small animal vet. I started Toa Payoh Vets in 1982 and am still practising there.

40 years ago, I was a final year veterinary student like all of you. I had to buy veterinary books and subscribe to veterinary magazines to acquire skills and knowledge to become a competent young vet. Now, you have online sources of veterinary information anytime to help you with your research and study for examinations.

Veterinary medicine and surgery is too large a subject for any vet to master. Vets are expected to know how to diagnose and treat many animals, unlike the general practitioner who can refer difficult cases to the specialists who focus on only people. 

So, how can you be a very good vet in Myanmar?  My opinion is that you must acquire or possess at least 5 values - Belief, Passion, Drive, Perseverance and Focus for your many years of practice as a vet.  


1.  BELIEF. A feeling that veterinary medicine and surgery is good, right or valuable for you.
If curing sick animals is what you believe in, you must practise veterinary science and do it well.


2.  PASSION. A strong enthusiasm or interest for practising veterinary medicine and surgery for as long as you live.  You need to be motivated but how do you do it?

Motivation is said to be either internal or instrumental. Internal refers to being self motivated. You look forward to every new day to practise vet medicine without considering how much money you will make. Instrumental refers to a person wanting to make more and more money every day. Be a trader, banker or property developer as veterinary medicine does not make the average vet rich.

3.  DRIVE.  A determination to always try very hard to acquire veterinary knowledge and and be successful in treatment outcomes. You need:

- Lots of energy to do emergencies, read up, research and be available for clients.
- Hard work with most time spent at work.
- Little sleep. You may age faster, get burned out or divorced.

If you want a work-life balance, office hours 5 days a week job and time for your family, it is your choice.  

4.  PERSEVERANCE.  A continued effort to become a very good veterinarian despite difficulties, failures or opposition from other people.

- Your reputation of delivering good outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment will get you many referrals.


- Referrals sustain your practice but you must work hard and be available for clients. If you keep going abroad for holidays, your clients just go to the competitors. 

- It is much easier to retain an existing client compared to getting new ones.  

5. FOCUS. An ability to concentrate on how to provide better veterinary diagnosis and treatment and pay particular attention to the case/surgery handled. 

-  You need to focus on the bigger picture of what you hope to be 10 years later.

- Do you want to start your own practice?If you do, you need to focus on acquiring a wide range of relevant knowledge and skills to correctly diagnose and treat the animals and to manage your financial aspect of your business.


PART 2 - SOLVE THE PROBLEMS
OF CLIENTS/PATIENTS



Five of my interesting case studies showing some or all of the 5 above-mentioned values are discussed. I hope they may be useful in your revisions for your September examinations.

These are:

1. The young military German Shepherd Guard Dog had Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
2. The egg-laying hens produced more abnormal eggs. Egg Drop Sydrome 76 viral infections.
3. The professional dog breeders wanted the cheapest Caesarean sections.
4. More racehorses were being shot by the vets.
5. Giving back to the veterinary community.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Case Study 1. The young military German Shepherd Guard Dog had Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

He became tired easily after a few minutes of dog patrol with his handler, guarding the Tengah Air Base. The Army wanted me as an army vet, to put him to sleep. He was young and had a curable congenital heart diagnosed by me as Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). He needed a heart surgery. What should I do to help him avoid death by lethal injection?

SOLUTION

1. The Ductus Arteriosus is a foetal blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the descending aorta. During pregnancy, it shunts blood away from the collapsed foetal lungs as the foetus is still not breathing inside the womb. After birth it closes by around 8 days of age and becomes a fibrous tissue called ligamentum arteriosum.

If it is still present, it is called Patent Ductus Arteriosus. In this case, some of the unaerated (venous) blood from the pulmonary artery by-passes the lungs and goes to the the descending aorta via the PDA. As he had less oxygenated blood, he tired easily and was useless as a military guard dog.    

2.  In 1976, Singapore vets did not have diagnostic imaging like echocardiography and angiography. I diagnosed PDA based on a characteristic continuous (machinery) murmur heard at the left axillary region and a palpable cardiac "thrill".IMAGE


3.  I got Dr James Tan, an experienced veterinary surgeon to operate free of charge. Intercostal thoracotomy at the left fourth space to assess the PDA. The PDA in dogs is around 1 cm wide and less than 1 cm in length.  The lungs would collapse when the thorax is opened and since we did not have the mechanical ventilator.  I pressed the anaesthetic bag regularly as a manual ventilator to inflate the lungs while Dr James Tan operated fast, being experienced. He ligated the PDA. The dog was cured as he no longer felt tired so easily. He went back to work.

4.  Be humble and spend time to network and learn from more experienced vets. Ask for help if you need it. 
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Case Study 2. The egg-laying hens produced more abnormal eggs. The Egg Drop Syndrome 76 (EDS 76) virus caused severe drop in the egg production in Singapore's large commercial poultry farms. This disease, present in Europe, was confirmed by the government lab vet testing for HI
(hemagglutination inhibition) titres. But the government (Primary Production Department) prohibited EDS 76 vaccine imports from Europe unless the vet could proven them to be locally effective. This big farmer had over 100,000 layers and he would need to illegally import the vaccine to avoid being bankrupted.  

I could see the egg layers producing soft-shelled and abnormal shaped eggs for many months. The farmer was losing a lot of money as the egg production was less than 50% instead of 80%.

IMAGE

I was the government vet in charge of extension work. Seeking vaccine import approval from the big boss was the responsibility of the Vaccine Production Unit. There was a solution - I proposed a vaccine trial. 

SOLUTION

An EDS 76 vaccine trial with Dr Ng Fook Kheong, Head of Vaccine Production Unit and the poultry farm was done. Half the layers in one house would not be vaccinated. The other half was vaccinated. HI titres were taken from each group. The vaccinated half of the house did not have egg production drop or abnormal eggs. With this evidence of the efficacy of the EDS 76 vaccine, the government approved import.
Try to solve the veterinary problems of farmers by being pro-active in seeking help from other vets.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case Study 3. The professional dog breeders wanted cheap Caesarean sections. A vet provided cheap Caesarean sections for $250 and sold dog hundreds of vaccines/week to the professional dog breeders instead of vaccinating the puppies personally. He was suspended from practice.

Jenny, my nurse asked if I wanted to offer similar cheap C-sections to a big breeder with several hundred female dogs?

Should I work 24 hours/day, 7 days a week? Should I sacrifice my free time and not switch off my hand phone after 9 pm?  For the first 2 years, I provided $300 C-section services for all the professional dog breeders at any hour of the day. I gained valuable surgical skills with over 300 C-sections.

After each C-section, I would usually take images of the dam and/or puppies. I would review each surgery and how I would better manage the outcome in similar situations. See my webpage at:
http://www.bekindtopets.com/animals/20081201PAGE2_Dog_Surgery_Anaesthesia_ToaPayohVets.htm

IMAGES

Some vets who start their own practice may have insufficient number of cases. A good idea is to volunteer to spay and neuter stray dogs and cats cheaply to gain more surgical practice rather than watch online videos. Animal welfare people will appreciate your good work and refer more clients to you.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case Study 4. More racehorses were being shot by the vets - Adding value to my employer. Singapore Turf Club employed me as a vet on a 3-yearly contract. At one time, Singapore's economy was in recession. I could see that the horse owners were not paying their horse trainers and the number of race horses were dropping as they had to be put down.

In one race, there were only 3 racehorse running. Ideally, there should be more than 10. This decline in horse racing was a serious financial loss to the Club.. As a horse vet, I should not bother with the management problems of the racing industry. My job was to look after the health of racehorses.

IMAGES

What could a vet do besides advising on health care of racehorses?

SOLUTION

I was a member of the Club's task force to look into the racing problems and suggest solutions. The Club sent us to talk to the administrators of the racing clubs of Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand. The Racing Manager of the task force was responsible for a management report.

I suggested interviewing two respectable horse owners who were stock brokers and loved horse racing. They provided valuable feedback. I wrote to several racing clubs in the USA, South Africa and Hong Kong to ask them to send me 5 years of their annual reports for my research. I read up marketing books as I did not write management reports as a vet.

A new racing magazine wanted an article on horses. I submitted the following report entitled "What makes a horse racing club profitable?" and got paid $200. The board and management got a copy of this magazine. See my report at:
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/20120513history-1988-horse-racing-decline-veterinary-ToaPayohVets.htm

IMAGES X 2
Page 1 of the report
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/Stc1.JPG

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Case Study 5. Giving back to the community.  When the internet started around 1997,  I believed that it would would be very useful in educating the pet owners in Singapore as they can read the contents anytime. The usual method was to print out articles on diseases or show the text book. This is time-consuming in a busy practice. 

SOLUTION

With online, conveniently accessed knowledge, better vets and pet owners will be better equipped to take good care of the sick pets or animals.

1. I started a blog in blogger.com and wrote case studies in this blog and in my website around one case per day. 

The IMAGE of my first blog page, written in 2007 is at:

 http://singaporecatskittens.blogspot.sg/2007/06/1-lady-who-loved-cats-was-chased-by-dog.html

2.  I set up my company website, http://www.toapayohvets.com when the internet was just available and the webpages were grey and black.  Free websites sometimes close down their operations and all your veterinary content will be lost.


3.  In the last 2 years, I started You Tube videos to teach undergraduate vets and inform pet owners of veterinary cases. The younger generation prefers videos to reading text.  The webpage of my videos  is at:
http://www.kongyuensing.com/animals/20100609Educational_Vet_Videos_ToaPayohVets.htm


In this talk, all the following videos will be shown if there is time.

1. An experienced vet gives an I/V drip efficiently. Dr Thein Tun Aung of Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery, Yangon, Myanmar.

2. Spay of a cat at Toa Payoh Vets  - Myanmar language


3. Castration of a dog at Toa Payoh Vets - Myanmar language
http://youtu.be/0_c2ypTg6T0

4. Mammary neoplasia. Toa Payoh Vets - surgical techniques - Myanmar language
http://youtu.be/7qBCpl9Dg2I


5. Traumatic Proptosis of a dog's eye. Toa Payoh Vets - surgical techniques -  Myanmar language
http://youtu.be/BNFXO5a8t7U

6. Dwarf Hamster with ear warts - English

7. Turtle with ear abscesses - English

I usually wake up at 3 am to do the social media writing and uploading and producing digital images.
This has been going on since around 2007. 

All vets should make a difference and contribute to the society which gives them the opportunity to study to become veterinarians. A Singaporean studying in an Australian veterinary university needs to pay more than S$250,000 = 195,000,000 kyats.

I note that Drs Thein Tun Aung and his wife donates to the building and for the
education of the students at a monastery.

IMAGES 

CONCLUSION

HARD WORK AND TIME ARE NEEDED TO BE A VERY GOOD VET

1. Be proactive in helping the animals or clients to solve their problems. Add value to your employer. This makes your veterinary career so much more interesting as you wake up every morning.

2.  At the of the day, nobody in Myanmar know who you are if you are inexperienced or poorly located.  You will need to work hard and usually long hours for an experienced vet and tolerate office politics in order to be be a very good vet.

3. You may need to work a few years in Singapore, Japan or overseas to improve your skills. Dr Thein Tun Aung worked for around 10 years in Singapore for different vets, seeing so many varieties of cases and it was very hard work.

4. Distractions and pleasures nowadays are many. Some young vets prefer online gaming and partying  till 3 am or watching online movies at the work place. This take up the time you could use to gain more veterinary knowledge by writing case studies, following up with the owner, research on how to do a better diagnosis and treatment. Why the outcome was not so good.

5.  It is a pain to write case studies and research more on medical cases.  

However, hard work and time are required if you want to be a very good vet. The above-mentioned 5 values, amongst others, will guide you to be a very good vet in Myanmar.  

6.  I hope you enjoy this talk and wish you all good luck to your final year examinations.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I thank Dr Tin Tin Myaing, President, Dr Soe Min, Secretary and committee members  of the Myanmar Veterinary Association for organising this talk. I thank Drs Ling Ling Soe and Thein Tun Aung of Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery for their generous sponsorship.

IMAGES AND YOU TUBE VIDEOS will be presented at the talk. A powerpoint presentation with images and videos will be shown at the talk on Aug 15, 2014 to the final year vet students.



REFERENCES

Toa Payoh Vets webpage
http://www.toapayohvets.com/

Case studies of dogs at Toa Payoh Vets
http://www.bekindtopets.com/animals/20081201Dog_Surgery_Anaesthesia_ToaPayohVets.htm


Article of "What Makes A Horse Racing Club profitable?". 12 pages.
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/20120513history-1988-horse-racing-decline-veterinary-ToaPayohVets.htm

Page 1
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/Stc1.JPG

Page 2
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/Stc2.JPG

Page 3
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/Stc3.JPG

Page 12
http://www.asiahomes.com/dev/Stc12.JPG


Case studies of Caesarean Sections at Toa Payoh Vets
http://www.bekindtopets.com/animals/20081201PAGE2_Dog_Surgery_Anaesthesia_ToaPayohVets.htm

Case studies of hamsters at Toa Payoh Vets
http://www.toapayohvets.com/surgery/050609hamsters_ToaPayohVets.htm

Be Kind To Pets website
http://www.bekindtopets.com/

Veterinary Videos from Toa Payoh Vets
http://www.kongyuensing.com/animals/20100609Educational_Vet_Videos_ToaPayohVets.htm

Blog No. 2
http://2010vets.blogspot.sg/

Sunday, August 10, 2014

1449. TALK NO. 6 - MYANMAR YESIN VET SCIENCE FINAL YEAR STUDENTS



TALK TO FINAL YEAR VET STUDENTS
UNIVERSITY OF VETERINARY SCIENCE, YEZIN, MYANMAR
Aug 15, 2014

YOU CAN BE A VERY GOOD VET  IN MYANMAR
- Belief, Passion, Drive, Perseverance and Focus.

PART 1. INTRODUCTION

 I am a veterinarian who graduated from Glasgow University in 1974. During the past 40 years, I  had worked as an army vet (Guard and Tracker dogs), a government vet (pigs and poultry), a horse vet (racehorses) and a small animal vet. I started Toa Payoh Vets in 1982 and am still practising there.

40 years ago, I was a final year veterinary student like all of you. I had to buy veterinary books and subscribe to veterinary magazines to acquire skills and knowledge to become a competent young and inexperienced vet. Now, you have online sources of veterinary information anytime to help you with your research and study for examinations.

Veterinary medicine and surgery is too large a subject for any vet to master. Vets are expected to know how to diagnose and treat many animals, unlike the general practitioner who can refer difficult cases to the specialists who focus on only human. 

So, how can you be a very good vet in Myanmar?  My opinion is that you must acquire or possess at least 5 values - Belief, Passion, Drive, Perseverance and Focus for the many years of practice as a vet.  


1.  BELIEF. A feeling that veterinary medicine and surgery is good, right or valuable for you.

*Curing sick animals is what you believe in. You want to practise veterinary science and do it well.

What goals do you set for yourself in 5 years' time and longer? You want to be a successful self-employed vet or a partner? Or just marry a rich spouse or change profession?

2.  PASSION. A strong enthusiasm or interest for practising veterinary medicine and surgery for as long as you live.

*Motivation is said to be either internal or instrumental. Internal refers to being self motivated. You look forward to every new day to practise vet medicine without considering how much money you will make. Instrumental refers to a person wanting to make more and more money. Be a trader, banker or property developer as veterinary medicine does not make the average vet rich.

3.  DRIVE.  A determination to always try very hard to acquire veterinary knowledge and and be successful in treatment outcomes.

*Lots of energy to do emergencies, read up, research and be available for clients. Hard work, most time spent at work. Lack of sleep. You may age faster, get burned out or divorced. If you want a  work-life balance, office hours 5 days a week job, it is your choice.  

4.  PERSEVERANCE.  A continued effort to become a very good veterinarian despite difficulties, failures or opposition from other people.

*Your reputation of delivering good outcomes in the diagnosis and treatment will get you many referrals. Referrals sustain your practice but you must work hard and be available for clients. If you keep going abroad for holidays, your clients just go to the competitors.  It is much easier to retain an existing client compared to getting new ones.  

5. FOCUS. An ability to concentrate on how to provide better veterinary diagnosis and treatment and pay particular attention to the case/surgery handled. 

*Need to focus on the bigger picture of what you hope to be 10 years later. Do you want to start your own practice? 


IMAGE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


PART 2 - PROBLEMS OF CLIENTS/PATIENTS AND THEIR SOLUTIONS


Some case studies from my past 40 years of practice illustrating how I applied the 5 above-mentioned values may be useful in your final revisions before your September examinations.

These are:

*  1. The young military German Shepherd Guard Dog had Patent Ductus Arteriosus.
2. The egg-laying hens produced more abnormal eggs.
3. The professional dog breeders wanted the cheapest Caesarean sections.
4. More racehorses were being shot by the vets.
5. Giving back to the animal veterinary community.



 Case Study 1. The young military German Shepherd Guard Dog had Patent Ductus Arteriosus.

He became tired easily after a few minutes of dog patrol with his handler, guarding the Tengah Air Base. The Army wanted me to put him to sleep. He was young and had a curable congenital heart diagnosed by me as Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA). He needed a heart surgery. What should I do to help him avoid death by lethal injection?



SOLUTION

1. The Ductus Arteriosus is a foetal blood vessel that connects the pulmonary artery to the descending aorta. During pregnancy, it shunts blood away from the collapsed foetal lungs as the foetus is still not breathing inside the womb. After birth it closes by around 8 days of age and becomes a fibrous tissue called ligamentum arteriosum.

If it is still present, it is called Patent Ductus Arteriosus. In this case, some of the unaerated (venous) blood from the pulmonary artery by-passes the lungs and goes to the the descending aorta via the PDA. As he had less oxygenated blood, he tired easily and was useless as a military guard dog.    

In 1976, Singapore vets did not have diagnostic imaging like echocardiography and angiography. I diagnosed PDA based on a characteristic continuous (machinery) murmur heard at the left axillary region and a palpable cardiac "thrill".

I got Dr James Tan, an experienced veterinary surgeon to operate free of charge. Intercostal thoracotomy at the left fourth space. The PDA in dogs is around 1 cm wide and less than 1 cm in length.  The lungs would collapse when the thorax is opened and since we did not have the mechanical ventilator, I pressed the anaesthetic bag regularly as a manual ventilator to inflate the lungs. He ligated the PDA. The dog was cured as he no longer felt tired so easily. He went back to work.




Case Study 2. The egg-laying hens produced more abnormal eggs. The Egg Drop Syndrome 76 (EDS 76) virus caused severe drop in the egg production in Singapore's large commercial poultry farms. This disease was confirmed by the government lab tests. But the Primary Production Department prohibited EDS 76 vaccine imports from Europe unless it could be proven locally effective. This big  farmer with over 100,000 layers did not do illegal import of the vaccine.  

I could see the egg layers producing soft-shelled and abnormal shaped eggs for many months. The farmer was losing a lot of money as the egg production was less than 50% instead of 80%.


I was the government vet in charge of extension work. Seeking vaccine import approval from the big boss was the responsibility of the Vaccine Production Unit. There was a solution - I proposed a vaccine trial in which 50% of the layers in the long building would be vaccinated and 50% would not be. 


SOLUTION

I suggested an EDS 76 trial with Dr Ng Fook Kheong and the poultry farmer Mr Chew consented. Half the layers in one house would not be vaccinated. The other half vaccinated. HI titres taken from each group. The vaccinated half of the house did not have egg production drop or abnormal eggs. With this evidence of the efficacy of the EDS 76 vaccine, the government approved import.






Case Study 3. The professional dog breeders wanted cheap Caesarean sections. A vet provided cheap Caesarean sections for $250 and sold dog hundreds of vaccines/week to the professional dog breeders instead of vaccinating the puppies personally. He was suspended from practice.

Jenny, my nurse asked if I wanted to offer similar cheap C-sections to a big breeder with several hundred female dogs?

Should I work 24 hours/day, 7 days a week? Should I sacrifice my free time and not switch off my hand phone after 9 pm?  For the first 2 years, I provided $300 C-section services for all the professional dog breeders at any hour of the day. I gained valuable surgical skills with over 300 C-sections. In most cases, I took images after the C-section. These images are at:

http://www.bekindtopets.com/animals/20081201PAGE2_Dog_Surgery_Anaesthesia_ToaPayohVets.htm









Some vets who start their own practice may have insufficient number of cases. Volunteer to spay and neuter stray dogs and cats cheaply and get yourself well known by the animal welfare people for doing good work. Be humble and spend time to learn from more experienced vets.  



Case Study 4. More racehorses were being shot by the vets - Adding value to my employer. Singapore Turf Club employed me as a vet on a 3-yearly contract. At one time, Singapore's economy was in recession. I could see that the horse owners were not paying their horse trainers and the number of race horses were dropping as they had to be put down.

In one race, there were only 3 racehorse running. Ideally, there should be more than 10. This decline in horse racing was a serious financial loss to the Club.. As a horse vet, I should not bother with the management problems of the racing industry. My job was to the health of racehorses. What could I do besides advising on health care of racehorses?

SOLUTION

I was a member of the task force to look into the racing problems. We visited the racing clubs of Hong Kong, South Korea and Thailand. The Racing Manager would get our feedback and write a report.

I suggested interviewing two respectable horse owners who were stock brokers and loved horse racing. They provided valuable feedback. I wrote to several racing clubs in the USA, South Africa and Hong Kong to ask them to send me 5 years of their annual reports for my research. I read up marketing books as I did not write management reports as a vet. The report I produced is shown in the following images.

A new racing magazine wanted an article and I submitted the following report entitled "What makes horse racing profitable?" and got paid $200. The board and management got a copy of this magazine. See my report at:
     



Case Study 5. Giving back to the community.  When the internet started around 1997,  I believed that it would would be very useful in educating the pet owners in Singapore as they can read the contents anytime. The usual method was to print out articles on diseases or show the text book. This is time-consuming in a busy practice. 

SOLUTION
With knowledge, they would be better vets and pet owners. I started a blog and wrote case studies. 

IMAGE OF FIRST BLOG PAGE was written in 2007.

 http://singaporecatskittens.blogspot.sg/2007/06/1-lady-who-loved-cats-was-chased-by-dog.html



In the last 2 years, I started You Tube videos with the help of the young and energetic interns who want to study veterinary science.

BE KIND TO PETS VETERINARY EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS
PRODUCED IN 2014


1. Spay of a cat - Myanmar language
2. Castration of a dog - Myanmar language.
3. Mammary neoplasia - surgical techniques - Myanmar language
4. Traumatic Proptosis of the eye - surgical techniques -  Myanmar language
5. Hamster video - English
6. Turtle video - English
7. An experienced vet giving an I/V drip by Dr Thein Tun Aung

CONCLUSION

HARD WORK AND TIME ARE NEEDED TO BE A VERY GOOD VET
Be proactive in helping the animals or clients to solve their problems. Add value to your employer. This makes your veterinary career so much more interesting as you wake up every morning.

At the of the day, nobody in Myanmar know who you are if you are inexperienced.  You may need to work hard and usually long hours with an experienced vet. Or get a job in Singapore, Japan or overseas to improve your skills.  Distractions and pleasures nowadays are many - online gaming and partying  till 3 am, and watching online movies at work place take up the time you could use to gain more veterinary  knowledge. It is a pain to write case studies and research more on medical cases.  

These 5 values, amongst others, must be present to acquire lots of veterinary knowledge to be a very good vet in Myanmar. 


I hope you enjoy this talk and wish you all good luck to your final year examinations.

I thank Dr Tin Tin Myaing, President, Dr Secretary and committee  of the Myanmar Veterinary Association for organising this talk. I thank Drs Ling Ling Soe and Thein Tun Aung of Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery for sponsorship.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------






1448. FINAL YEAR TALK 5. First webpage 1997. Updated 2001 and 2010.

Since 1997, Asia USA Realty has supported the Community Education:  Be Kind To Pets which use narrative stories and pictures to educate the Singaporean community in how to care for their pets. It is hoped that more pet owners will realise the importance of good health for their companions as Singapore rolls into a fast-paced society in 2010. Some updates in 2010 are inserted below:
Eyelid swollen due to vaccination reactionVaccination reaction. Swollen eyes after vaccination. This puppy would not be vaccinated anymore as it may be fatal the next time.  The dog was sensitized to something inside the vaccine.  The Owner would just have to be careful that it would not be in contact with other unvaccinated dogs.  (2010 update: An anti-histamine injection may be given to prevent vaccine reaction during the annual vaccination.)

Some boarding kennels insist that dogs be vaccinated one week before boarding so as to prevent your dogs from becoming infected with viral diseases. Therefore, check out the policies and board your dog there. It is advised that you vaccinate your dog and cat yearly to protect them against deadly diseases affecting the brain, lungs, kidneys, intestines, amongst other diseases.
Testicular tumour in a 10-year old dogTesticular Tumour in a 10-year old Spitz. It is best to remove the testicle which has not dropped into the scrotum, a condition called retained testicle. This testicle will be present under the skin or inside the abdomen.  In many cases, it develops into a testicular tumour bigger than a golf ball as shown in the picture on the left. 

If the dog is 
sent for annual veterinary examination, the retained testicular tumour may be discovered by the veterinarian.  Examine your dog regularly especially when it is over 5 years old.  2010 Case: See:Tumours in 3 male dogs - Sertoli cell tumour, circum-anal tumour and oral tumour
Itchy lower body areaVentral dermatitis: Itchy skin at the lower "stomach" area or groin area. Causes varies and may be due to contact with chemicals from strong floor detergent, rough flooring or dampness in the bathrooms. Or even skin mite infestations. The dog keeps licking area till hair thins and skin changes to black colour over several years of irritation. Do check with your vet. 
(2010 update: Skin diseases in dogs and dwarf hamsters are common.)
 
Widespread skin infectionsGeneralised dermatitis. Causes vary. Many Singapore owners hop from one vet to another in search of a cure. Some cases are incurable. Shaving off the long coat, keeping ear canals clean (see neck redness due to scratching), checking on impacted and infected anal glands, excellent food and plenty of water, find out what stresses the dog and regular veterinary follow up with your veterinarian may help alleviate the intense itch and suffering and resolve the problem.
Unstoppable itchy backsideCellulitis: A large patch of hairless and red skin wound in the left hip area of dog. It is usually due to a small wound which becomes infected and the dog in this case keeps licking and causing more infection. Prompt veterinary treatment of small wounds is essential especially in cases which do not heal within 7 days.
Ticks biting eyelidsDermatitis due to tick infestations are common in Singapore stray or wandering dogs. Cross-breds usually neglected till ears, eyes (see arrow in photo) and body are infested by thousands of ticks. Consult your veterinary surgeon early to prevent suffering.
A rare breed: Kerry Blue, short coat, makes a good pet in hot Singapore Best type of dog for a child in Singapore's hot and humid climate? Short hair (no grooming needed), erect ears which are not covered and therefore ventilated unlike smelly floppy ears and a dark coat (easier to maintain than white). The picture on the right  is a Kerry Blue puppy, a rare breed in this world and may be mistaken for a "mongrel" by anyone not familiar with Kerry Blues.

1447. FINAL YEAR TALK 4 - July 31, 2005

toilet training, house training puppies

Community education supported by www.toapayohvets.com
My Photo
NAME: 
LOCATION: SINGAPORE
A veterinary surgeon at www.toapayohvets.com and founder of a licensed housing agency for expatriate rentals and sales at www.asiahomes.com

SUNDAY, JULY 31, 2005

1. Be Kind To Pets Book 1: Toilet-Training Your BNew Puppy in Singapore

July 31, 2005. 

Community Service by Toa Payoh Vets.

TOILET TRAINING YOUR FIRST PUPPY IN SINGAPORE - A Be Kind To Pets Book, published by www.sinpets.com 

I am Dr Sing Kong Yuen, a veterinarian and founder of Toa Payoh Vets, a small animal practice Singapore. More information is at www.toapayohvets.com

I hope to write a book on Toilet Training Your New Puppy for Singaporeans, based on real life experiences of Singapore's puppy owners. It is so boring reading manuals and the real cases will be of great interest to real puppy owners all over the world. In Singapore,

1446. FINAL YEAR TALK 3. June 1, 2007. Cats

FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 2007

1. The cat of the night escapes the dog catcher but not his mistress?

"How did your cat survive being exterminated since I saw him with a leg bite wound 2 years ago?" I asked the slimmest young girl with a white head scarf and big-frame spectacles. "Now he has a big lump like a ping-pong ball below his left armpit. It would likely be a cat bite or scratch abscess. There is usually a big muscular tom-cat involved in territory control. Your neutered cat would not be so strong to fight back. Was he permitted to wander the concrete jungles of Singapore?"

"Yes," the girl said. "He will meow so loudly if he was not permitted to go out. So, he goes out in the evening or at 2 a.m."

"For how long?"

"Around 5 hours and he would come home."

The cat had lost some appetite. His rectal temperature was normal. The lump was hard --- an abscess which had not ripened yet.

1445. FINAL YEAR TALK 2. First blog posting on Jan 24, 2008.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 24, 2008

1. Hamster surgery at Toa Payoh Vets

TOA PAYOH VETS - DOG NEUTER PROCEDURES
toapayohvets.com
Focus: Small animals - dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits
Date: 18 November, 2007 


REMOVAL OF SKIN TUMOURS/LUMPS IN A HAMSTER AT TOA PAYOH VETS

WHAT TO EXPECT. 
The veterinarian removes the tumours/lumps in the hamster skin. Usually the hamster needs to be anaesthesized if the tumour is large. 

WHAT TO DO BEFORE.

1444. FINAL YEAR VET STUDENT TALK 1, YEZIN, AUG 15, 2014

Using blogger.com, I started first veterinary blog in 2008. 
http://veterinarysurgerydrsing.blogspot.sg/

1.  First blog started on May 21, 2008.
http://veterinarysurgerydrsing.blogspot.sg/2008/05/1-faq-dog-neuter-owners-point-of-view.html (see Fig 1).

2. Second blog is the main one being updated. 
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=1070401363111682595#allposts



IMAGES

Fig. 1. FIRST BLOG STARTED ON MAY 21, 2008

WEDNESDAY, MAY 21, 2008


1. FAQ. Dog Neuter - Owner's point of view

QUESTIONS ON NEUTER FROM THE OWNER'S POINT OF VIEW

--- On Tue, 5/20/08, Dog Owner wrote:

Subject: Hello
To: judy@toapayohvets.com
Date: Tuesday, May 20, 2008, 3:06 AM

Hi
May I check what is the price for sterilizing a male Shih Tzu dog about two years old... how many days for them to recover. . thanks

Warmest regards
Name of Dog Owner



----- Original Message -----
From: David Sing
To: Dog Owner
Sent: Wednesday, May 21, 2008 2:48 AM
Subject: Re: Hello, dog neuter

I am Dr Sing.
Cost of surgery is S$150 if it is less than 5 kg. $200 if more than 5 kg. Should be able to eat by day 2.


--- On Wed, 5/21/08, Dog Owner wrote:


Subject: Re: Hello, dog neuter
To: drsing_98@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2008, 12:30 AM

Thank you Dr Sing. Does he needs to be hospitalized? Any other charges...how many days do I need to book in advance the appt? May I have your clinic number and full address.
Name of Dog Owner


Dog neuter at Toa Payoh Vets
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 10:20 PM
From:
This sender is DomainKeys verified
"David Sing" 
View contact details
To: Dog Owner

Thank you for your reply. Will not need to stay overnight. Come in at 9 am and goes home in the evening.

Additional charges may be $20 for e-collar (if you don't have one) and $15.00 for painkillers and antibiotics.

Book 1 day in advance. No food and water after 8 pm. the night before. Clinic tel no. is 6254 3326. Address: Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, 01-1477, Singapore 319074.

No comments: