2 golden retrievers with closed pyometra (2012) and open pyometra (2014)

March 26, 2014
Open pyometra - blood tests

Golden Retriever, Female, 9 years

 

 

 

2 cases of Golden Retriever with pyometra in 2012 and 2014 

Case 1.  Friday, June 22, 2012

1046. Closed Pyometra - blood tests and x-rays

Golden Retriever, Female, 10 years

Not eating for 4 days. Lethargy. No fever.

History: Polydipsia and Polyuria

1.  Blood test:
Total WCC = 38 (6-17). N86%, L4%, M9%, E1%, B0%

2. X-rays: Uterine horns filled with pus
3. Ultrasound: Pus seen in both uterine horns. Cervix is closed.

Diagnosis: Closed pyometra

Surgery: 1 hour. Spayed.

Outcome: Good. Dog is back to normal.



Case 2. March 25, 2014  
Golden Retriever, F, 9 years.  Bloody vaginal discharge seen today. Lethargy, anorexia, shivering, panting. Vomiting today.

Blood test
1.  Blood test:
Total WCC = 57.3 (6-17). N82%, L9%, M9%, E0%, B0%
Absolute Neutrophil  47 (3-11)
Platelet 116 (200-500). Toxaemia.  I/V drip + tolefidine + baytril pre-op. 2 bottles Hartmann and Dextrose Saline.
Liver and kidney creatinine normal.

Diagnosis: Open pyometra
Spayed.
Outcome: Good. Dog is back to normal.
Today Dec 1, 2014.   Big infected ulcerated nasal area below nostrils. Keeps licking with tongue. So, not healing. Started with a small wound.  What to do now?  VIDEO







Open pyometra. Blood tests only.
1.4 kg uterus + red brown pus.


High total white cell count and history indicated closed pyometra. X-rays and ultrasound are useful to confirm pus in the uterus.

1120. Two big ear abscesses in a terrapin in Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

1119. Script for Shan. Vertical ear canal ablation in a hamster and a dog

Nov 30, 2014

HOOK


INTRODUCTION


ANAESTHESIA
Old pets - high anaesthetic risk.  Reputational risk for the vet.


SURGICAL TECHNIQUES
Tumours deep inside the vertical ear canal. Recurrence if just removed the tumours at the entrance of the canal.  ANATOMY. ILLUSTRATIONS.

BLEEDING & INFECTIONS
Lots of bleeding
Owner's loving care. Dog bites. Hamster scratches as no e-collar.

OUTCOME
Dog needed to be in-patient and cared for. Granulation tissue.


Hamster well cared for by young lady with SMS updates. Blood face yesterday morning but clean next morning when I saw the hamster. Cut off the clotted tags of tissues which might have irritated the hamster.

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1118. Sunday's interesting case. Second Opinion. The Shih Tzu has bladder stones 3 years after surgical removal

Nov 30, 2014

A referral case. The couple wanted to know whether the 13-year-old, female, spayed Shih Tzu would be able to survive anaesthesia if the operation to remove the recurrent calcium oxalate bladder stones is to be performed. A health screening was done as a routine by the family vet. X-rays show bladder and kidney stones. The dog had bladder stones of similar composition removed 3 years ago and had been on dry U/D diet since. But with dog biscuits fed daily and bread sometimes. After bladder stone removal, the urine was checked 3 months later. There were positive calcium oxalate crystals as the dog was still fed her usual dry food and not U/D. After switching to U/D, the urine were negative for 2 more times and there was no more urine check up since.

"There is no urine analysis report," I said on this fine Sunday morning at 9.10am. A client had referred this couple to me as regards the bladder stones. 

The husband phoned the clinic and the results were faxed over. "Urine pH is 6.0, few calcium oxalate crystals, red blood cells and white blood cells were present," I said. This low pH shows that the urine is acidic, favourable for calcium oxalate crystals to form.

I palpated the throat and the abdomen. The dog coughed and winced in pain when I palpated the whole abdomen. Yet the owner reported that the dog did not vomit but had lost 10% of appetite and that the night urine was in a small puddle nowadays, instead of one large amount.

"Based on the health reports of the dog 1.5 months ago from your family vet showing normal liver and kidney and blood cells,  and my examination of the heart and lungs, there is a high chance that your dog will survive anaesthesia" I said. "However, the pain in the throat and the abdomen shows that something is not right with the dog. Most likely a start of inflammation of the kidneys and bladder."

The dog was on antibioitc medication for 14 days and strictly no more dog biscuits. U/D canned food for the next 14 days and if the dog has normal appetite, instead of being coaxed to eat, the dog will be Ok for surgery. 

Conclusion
Feeding U/D prescription diet must be exclusive. No other dog biscuits, bread etc to be given to the dog. Urine test every 3-monthly and then 6-monthly will be advised but NO Singaporean dog owner ever bother to do this monitoring after bladder stone surgery.

 

Vertical ear canal ablation - hamster and dog - post-op bleeding

Unusual to do vertical ear canal ablation in a dog and hamster around the same period of time. 


1.  Jack Russell 13 years old - Day 12 - much better. Surgery by Dr Daniel Sing.

2.  Dwarf hamster, 22 months old - Day 7 - had profuse bleeding yesterday (Day 6).

Day 6 after vertical ear canal ablation

7 hours later, the hamster had cleaned himself, removing all traces of bleeding 

Surgery by Dr Sing Kong Yuen. SURGICAL TECHNIQUE Vertical incision into canal. Then electro-excision to remove whole veritcal canal with tumours inside.

Both had tumours inside the vertical canal. The top 2/3 of the vertical canal was cut out with the tumours. Bleeding was due to the scratching of the operation area.

In the dog, the e-collar was effective but the dog objected strongly to ear cleaning for the first 5 days at home. So the owner sent the dog here for me to clean. The wound was wet and Dr Daniel removed the stitches, letting the wound to heal by granulation (IMAGE). 

After 8 days of in-patient, he went home today. He is extremely hyper-active although he is an old dog. "Jack Russells are born high energy and will be active if they are healthy in old age, as in your dog." I explained to the couple. VIDEO


In the hamster, the neck was too short and in any case, e-collar is not effective as the hamster will take it off in a few seconds. So, today, I examined the wound. Around 5 clotted tags of skin were snipped off. A much bigger crate or high-walled plastic container with a standing exercise wheel was advised.  The hamster was still 52 g and ate more and peed more, due to the drug. His stools are normal in size. VIDEO.

Conclusion
Daily care of the ear wound by cleaning and medication giving is important for both the hamster and dog. It takes around 14 days for the granulation wound to heal and the blood clots to fall off. In the hamster, the owner cared for it at home and I saw him today only. The heavy clotted tags of skin around the wound were snipped off as they could be "heavy" and irritating to the hamster.  (VIDEO)

1116. Younger generation does not follow instructions - terrapin with ear abscesses - post-op care

Nov 28, 2014

"Just focus on the terrapin," I specifically instructed the Sec 4 intern as I wanted to produce a veterinary educational video on "how to take care of the terrapin with two ear abscesses after operation". She had been interning for 9 days.

So I assumed she did the right thing. The lady wanted a copy of the video. I saw her appearing inside the video.

"I will phone her for permission," the young intern said.
"It is not as simple as that," I replied. "Permission must be in writing as her family members may object later and I will have to remove the video. Now more time is wasted having to edit the video to get the owner out of it!"

I note that the younger generation of interns and employees needs to be monitored as many do not want to follow instructions.

Spanish dancing videos

I was surprised that my canon can capture such sharp videos.

Canon EOS 70D, with zoom lens, from "circle" seats central back area.

 

 

 

PK, Dora, Wendy
Can anyone give me the real title of the dances?










Gibraltar.

The stressed tour leader dashed across the road. PK, Dora and Wendy were cool and calm. Mr and Mrs Mok took life easy. I was at the other side waiting for the group to capture a video of most of them.