advice-please

[nfjchester]

Re: advice-please

i just read the bio on the doctor for chester - it says that she is a board certified in vet opthamology and was an assistant professor of comparative opthamology at the university of minnesota . but does this make her a good surgeon and what about the people running the anethesia ?

[bgdavis]

Re: advice-please

Hi,

My late girl, Criss, was diabetic and hypothyroid, had Cushings' and lupus, and had both of her eyes removed in two separate operations. In fact she set a record at Oklahoma State for the most major eye surgeries done within a 18 month period (total of 3).

Her first was for diabetic induced cataracts. Eight days later, one eye had a spike in pressure to 91 and destroyed the optic nerve. I had that useless eye removed and a prosthesis put in. She then had glaucoma in the other eye which we treated with eye drops for over a year. She then lost all sight in that eye and I had it removed and a prosthesis inserted.

I trusted her doctors to handle the diabetes for the surgeries. I did take her back to my hotel room after each one to get her to eat something and take insulin shots. She was between 9 and 10 years old for all of these.

Bonnie and Angel Criss Ann

[farrwf]

Re: advice-please

Pumpernickle is a Pug who had both eyes removed. Hasn't posted since May, though ...

[k9diabetes]

Re: advice-please

If you are comfortable with your vet's advice, talk to the vet about the ophthalmologist. Usually a local vet will have had at least a few experiences with the specialists in the area and he should be able to either assure you that he considers the ophthalmologist to be very skilled (if perhaps a bit thin-skinned) or whether he shares your reservations and thinks it would be better to take Chester somewhere else.

I find that GP vets often know a whole lot about the various qualities of specialists and who to avoid.

I am guessing that the risks are probably primarily related to the heart condition.

I wouldn't want to have anything but a specialist do surgery on an eye but I have seen quite a few dogs whose had eye removals done by the local GP vet. It really just depends on the skill and experience of the local GP vet and it sounds like yours is not comfortable doing it.

But if you're just not comfortable with the ophthalmologist, ask the GP vet for other options, like maybe a local surgeon who is a general surgeon rather than an eye doc.

I think they would want someone who can provide very careful monitoring of the anesthesia with Chester. Which is why a surgeon might be a good choice. Our vet monitors blood pressure and other vitals during any anesthesia. Which is more expensive but a lot safer. Our cat was recently anesthetized and her blood pressure kept dropping so he had to adjust the anesthesia level up and down until he found one that worked for her and also gave her IV fluids to support her blood pressure.

Natalie

[nfjchester]

Re: advice-please

chester had his left eye removed on the 26th of september - piece of cake - i was more worried than anyone - he didnt even mind the lampshade he had to wear . he got his stiches out on monday . but he has a cough not consistent but every once in a while - he had this before surgery as well . his regular vet says its allergies - im his mom and dont agree . his heart is slightly enlarged and dont have fluid in his lungs - he is eating well and exersicing so i dont know what it could be . any others that has doug coughing ?

[Shellie]

Re: advice-please

Very glad to hear the surgery went well! I know that is a load off your mind!

As for allergies...this HAS been a very bad season for them BUT if you feel it's not that...I'd go back to the vet and push them a bit. Good checkup might be just what's needed to either discover something or reassure you.

Good luck! Hugs!

[k9diabetes]

Re: advice-please

chester had his left eye removed on the 26th of september - piece of cake - i was more worried than anyone - he didnt even mind the lampshade he had to wear . he got his stiches out on monday . but he has a cough not consistent but every once in a while - he had this before surgery as well . his regular vet says its allergies - im his mom and dont agree . his heart is slightly enlarged and dont have fluid in his lungs - he is eating well and exersicing so i dont know what it could be . any others that has doug coughing ?

Good for Chester!! Seriously, that little dog of yours is a survivalist!

Chronic inflammation, allergies that cause lung inflammation, collapsing trachea, laryngeal paralysis, and heart conditions can all cause coughing. There may be other things as well but those come to mind right away.

Our dog Chris had a handful of heart problems, a very slight laryngeal paralysis, and a bad case of "old dog lung" - essentially chronic inflammation in his airways. He would cough at times. It could be that something similar is occurring in Chester. Chris' lung inflammation (not an infection, just inflammation) was visible on x-rays.

Chris couldn't take the diuretic Lasix every day because it wrecked his kidney values. But I did give him a very tiny dose of it when he was doing a lot of coughing and it seemed to help him. The vet couldn't really identiy why it helped him - presumed it dried his lungs out a bit - he didn't have any visible fluid in them but maybe they were a little "wet". Since it helped him and didn't hurt him, we quit trying to figure out why it worked and just used it when his coughing was especially bad.

Natalie

[Cebe]

Re: advice-please

My dog coughed in the beginning of her diagnosis. Not a clue why. But it was the coughing the made me bring her to the vet, and I think it helped me catch her diabetes early enough. But, she hasn't coughed since then.

Any news on the coughing? Could it be nervousness?