Dr. Kathy Wright and CARE Center made the news this weekend. Dr. Wright performed Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation (RFCA) on a dog who traveled from Oregon for her expertise. Dr. Wright is currently the only veterinarian in North America peforming RFCA for dogs with specific tachyarrythmias.
The story was particularly significant since the dog (Chewey, a 5 month old lab) is in training to become an Autism Service Dog.
To see the video from Cincinnati Channel 12 (and picked up by CNN), go here.
Continuing Education by CARE Center March 2006 - Present
To our Referring Veterinarians:
With license renewal time coming up for Ohio veterinarians, we thought it would be helpful to see a list of Conintuing Education courses offered by CARE Center since March 2006.
So here it is:
November 8, 2006 – Emergency Abdominal Surgery - Susanna Hinkle Schwartz, DVM, DACVS
May 8, 2007 – CT Scanning for the Veterinarian – Valerie Samii, DVM, DACVR
June 12, 2007 - Treatment of Feline Hyperthyroidism - Erick Mears, DVM, DACVIM (Internal Medicine) & Endocrine Surgery - Susanna Hinkle Schwartz, DVM, DACVS
September 18, 2007 – Slips and Ticks, a Neurology Video Presentation – Joli Jarboe, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology)
October 16, 2007 - Treatment of the Shock Patient and the Post-Emergent Patient – Jessica Davis, RVT, VTS-ECC and Dana Drake, RVT, VTS-ECC
January 15, 2008 Bartonella and Insulinomas - Beth McElravy, DVM, DACVIM (Internal Medicine)
11.10.07
Case Study !
A Critical Care Success Story
Louie was a 9 year old neutered male sheltie who came to the CARE Center after he was seen to collapse in the backyard. Other than a few days of diarrhea, nothing unusual was noted by the owner until he fell over.
Louie appeared very sick when he came in, but looked even worse over the next 24 hours. Near death, he was steadily, gradually brought back to health over the next 6 days by a stubborn spirit, a committed owner, and aggressive intensive care.
Diagnostically, Louie was a challenge simply because his signs were rather vague, and yet he seemed to feel much worse than would be expected from any of these outward symptoms. Initially only dehydrated and weak, after the first 12 hours in the hospital Louie refused to even raise his head, and would barely track anything with his eyes enough to let us know he was conscious.
Bloodwork was done to help determine if this was Addison’s disease (a low level of cortisone), leptospirosis (a severe bacterial infection), pancreatitis (an inflammation of the pancreatitis), parvo viral enteritis (a severe viral infection), or something else. While testing was being completed, Louie was admitted to CARE Center’s Critical Care Unit (CCU) where he had a nurse assigned to him around the clock. He was started on intravenous fluids containing dextrose to provide some minimal calories, and broad spectrum antibiotics. As his condition worsened, a special IV catheter was placed in his jugular vein (called a central line catheter), and a urinary catheter was placed both to measure his urine production, and to help keep him clean (he was no longer even getting up to urinate). His case was taken over by Dr. Beth McElravy, one of CARE Center’s Internal Medicine specialists.
When bloodwork demonstrated that Louie had severe pancreatitis, he was treated more specifically. Because the pancreatitis patient needs to be fasted for several days, he was started on partial parenteral nutrition (PPN), essentially intravenous nutrition. He was given plasma transfusions because pancreatitis can affect the amount of protein in the body, and plasma contains such proteins. He was given a variety of IV fluid types, designed to help him maintain his blood pressure, electrolyte balance, and hydration.
And when the nausea that comes with pancreatitis caused him to vomit, he was treated for aspiration pneumonia (the inflammation in lungs that results when vomitus is aspirated into the airway), by administering breathing treatments 4 times daily.
For the next 6 days Louie as in the CCU, with constant monitoring and very frequent tweaking of his treatment regimen (based upon his progress as seen by by laboratory testing and assessment of how he seemed to be feeling). After all of this, Louie was able to go home, wagging his tail and barking at his owners.
His case is an example of what very aggressive intensive care can do for a patient. Its care that takes the commitment of the pet’s owner, and not every case has the same outcome. But with the huge advances veterinary medicine is making every year, success stories like Louie’s are ever more common.
5.11.07
Cincinnati now has Neurology !
The Cincinnati Animal Referral & Emergency (CARE) Center is very pleased to announce the addition of Neurology to our practice! Joli Jarboe, DVM, DACVIM (Neurology) has joinedCARE Center. Dr. Jarboe has been practicing in Las Vegas, Nevada prior to moving back to her native Midwest. With her arrival, she will be the only full-time Neurologist in the state of Ohio.
CARE Center is very excited to be able to offer Dr. Jarboe’s expertise to our referring veterinarians. She will be seeing appointments Tuesday through Friday.
A partial list of what Dr. Jarboe does:
Brain surgery
Spinal Surgery
Vertebral and spinal cord evaluation
Spinal fluid evaluation
Brain/spine imaging
Seizure treatment
If you have any questions, or would like to schedule an appointment, do not hesitate to contact us
11.10.06
CARE Center now has MRI capabilities!
In addition to our CT scan, fluoroscopy, and digital radiography imaging modalities, CARE Center has access to an MRI for weekly scans. If you have questions about any of our imaging capabilities, do not hesitate to contact us.
