Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving From the Staff at Circle City Veterinary Specialty & Emergency Hospital

Few days on the calendar year are as closely associated with family and tradition as Thanksgiving. And as diverse as America is, so are the memories and traditions of American families' Thanksgiving celebrations. In the spirit of the holiday we here at Circle City Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital thought it would only be appropriate to share some of our favorite Thanksgiving memories and traditions. We hope you enjoy
Our Thanksgiving food drive was a success!
Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours.
reading these and want to wish you and your family the happiest of Thanksgivings.

Aubrey Barth, Registered Veterinary Technician: I loved waking up to the sound of the Thanksgiving Day parades on TV in the living room, helping my dad mix the stuffing by hand in a huge foil pan, and that it took my brother 18 years to figure out how to correctly eat cranberry sauce (not by itself, but along with a forkful or turkey, potatoes, or stuffing).

Amy Rader, DVM, Director of Emergency Services: The first time I met my husband's family was at Thanksgiving. I met the ENTIRE family, everyone made me feel welcome and part of the family.

Jamie Riddle, Registered Veterinary Technician: My favorite moments of Thanksgiving are getting together with my crazy family. Each year the table has been getting bigger and bigger, but I love taking a breath, not worrying about the world and being able to look across every angle of the table and see someone that I love, then stuffing our faces :).

Megan Anderson, Registered Veterinary Technician: Before my grandparents passed away, we would always go to a buffet type brunch around 10:00 a.m. No one in my family likes cooking, but there would be an "in the spirit of the holiday" turkey cooked by my mother, to be nibbled on for the following weeks. After joining the Anderson family, and attending a true dinner with the family, it's a weird transition into a hustling and bustling clatter and clash of bodies packed into the tiny kitchen, preparing several dishes at once. I quickly learned to bring a cold dish as contribution so as to not need space in the oven or an electrical outlet. After the rest of the family leaves, we build a fire in the fireplace and trim the tree. We sip hot cocoa and talk about gifts we are considering and tease the young kids about making sure to get their letters done to Santa. Thanksgiving passes quickly into Christmas.

Kiely Clark, Registered Veterinary Technician: One of my favorite holiday memories was while working on Thanksgiving. Dr Grieshaber bought us a big 'ol turkey. We got it out of the oven and went to carve it but couldn't find a knife! We carved our turkey with a pumpkin carving knife...later we found a real knife in the pumpkin roll :).

Rachel Kulaga, Client Services Administrator: My favorite tradition is always going out with my family to pick out our Christmas tree the night of Thanksgiving. My favorite memory is making it home just in time for Thanksgiving the year I studied abroad in Europe. I've never been so happy to eat Thanksgiving Dinner and watch the Lions lose ;)!

Ray Schmitt, Public Relations/Marketing Representative: There was always a battle between myself, my brother, my sister and our cousins as to who would get to lick the beaters from the electric mixer after the mashed potatoes were made. Even now that we're all grown we all want them. Also, to close out the night my family always gathered around the table for a card game we call Blackout. It's similar to Spades and a lot of fun.

Danie Lodge, Registered Veterinary Technician: I like dipping my turkey in mashed potatoes & gravy!

Amanda Audo, DVM (Emergency Dept.): To me, Thanksgiving always meant driving from Detroit to Columbus to visit my great-grandmother. Her favorite restaurant was the Brown Derby, so we would go there every year for Thanksgiving dinner. Then we would get to play with our favorite toys we kept at her house.

Cassi Naden, Customer Service Representative: Everyone knows that the wishbone is a "prized" part of many Thanksgiving traditions. In my family, after everyone is done eating we play the card game Phase 10. The first and second place winners are the ones that get to break the wishbone.

Katherine Good, Veterinary Assistant: It was the first time I was in charge of Thanksgiving dinner - the turkey, sides and dessert. My first time ever making turkey. I did the normal; season the turkey, add water and butter to it. Set in the oven to slowly cook overnight. Well in the middle of the night we woke up to the smoke detector going off and smoke everywhere. Turns out I put too much water in the pot and it boiled over with fat in it. Elvis my dog wasn't too concerned he wanted to see if there was anything he could eat. My nephew slept through the whole thing. Everything else went great. The turkey had a smokey taste to it.

Tina Beers, Registered Veterinary Technician: My favorite memory is going up to Wisconsin to my aunt and uncle's house. My mom, aunts and grandmother would cook (I would try to help, but it never worked out for me), while my grandpa and uncles watch football (usually the Bears) and having a house full of kids. Afterwards we would set up the Christmas tree and all of my aunts would get ready for black Friday shopping.

Kelly Fisher, DVM, CCRP: After getting married, Kreg and I wanted to start our own family tradition. The morning after Thanksgiving we get up early and go to the tree farm to pick out, and cut, our Christmas tree. Two kids later, we still look forward to Friday morning and picking out that special tree.

Kate Fitzwater, DVM, MS, DACVS: One aspect of Thanksgiving that I look forward to are the leftovers, I can eat them for lunch and dinner all the way until Sunday! Good thing no one else likes them that much in my family, the more for me :).

Kim Wirth, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology): My favorite Thanksgiving tradition is my parents fighting over the time of the meal and my Dad disappearing into the garage for the remainder of the day.

 

Monday, November 3, 2014

Cataract Surgery in Dogs

Cataract Surgery in Dogs
By Rachel Mathes, DVM, MS, DACVO

Cataracts are opacities or white areas in the lens which is located inside the eye and functions to focus light on the retina (back of the eye) for visual processing. Cataracts in dogs have many causes with the most common type of cataract being heritable, or breed related. Another common cause of cataracts in dogs is systemic diabetes. In fact, up to 80% of dogs will develop diabetic cataracts within sixteen months of a diagnosis of diabetes. Whether a patient develops cataracts is not dependent on how well the diabetes is regulated. Cataracts may remain stable for long periods of time or may progress over time, with a variable rate of progression. Cataracts cause inflammation inside the eye and may cause other serious diseases such as glaucoma, lens displacement or retinal detachments. The biggest concern, however, with cataracts is that they often cause vision loss or blindness.

The diagnosis of cataracts may not be straightforward because other conditions of the eye can cause “cloudiness” or white discolorations. A full ophthalmic examination with a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist is recommended to assess cataracts. If cataracts are diagnosed, they may be treated with phacoemulsification, otherwise known as “cataract surgery.” Surgery is typically pursued if there is significant vision loss causing changes to a patient’s lifestyle or behavior. This may vary depending on the dog’s level of activity and daily routine. Often, vision loss may not be recognized until the pet is taken to a different environment with which he/she is not familiar. Common signs of vision loss include bumping into objects, falling on or missing stairs, increased sleeping due to reluctance to move around, hesitancy to move in unfamiliar environments or increased contact with the owner (e.g. following the owner around more than usual). These signs may appear gradually or may occur quite suddenly depending on the progression of the cataracts. 

Cataract surgery involves removal the abnormal lens and replacement with a new, artificial lens. This is done through a very small incision on the side of the eye. The new lens is foldable and able to be placed through this small incision. The small incision decreases overall anesthesia time and complications after surgery. The procedure in dogs is the same surgery that is performed in humans for cataract surgery, even though the canine or dog lens is approximately four times the size of the human lens. The success rate of cataract surgery in dogs is 90-95 percent. While no surgical procedure carries a 100 percent success rate, the success rate of this surgery is very high, especially if done by a skilled board-certified ophthalmologist. The surgery is able to restore normal vision for a blind or significantly visually impaired pet, often completely changing their behavior and activity level. Many people state that cataract surgery “gave their dog back their life,” enabling them to play with toys, run outside and interact with other dogs again. The change in a patient’s demeanor after cataract surgery is often dramatic and one of the best events to witness for a veterinary ophthalmologist. This surgery is offered here at Circle City Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital with myself (Dr. Rachel Mathes), a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist, so be sure to ask your veterinarian about options for a referral here.   

A cross section of the eye is depicted with the black arrow indicating the lens. This structure is normally clear, but may become milky or whitish with cataract formation. 


A photograph of a patient with cataracts is depicted. The lens is whitish-gray and this patient was blind before surgery. 


 
A photograph of a patient after cataract surgery is depicted. The new, artificial lens can be seen. This patient had normal vision after surgery.  
















A photograph of a patient after cataract surgery is depicted.  The new, artificial lens can be seen.  This patient had normal vision after surgery.