A Day in the Life of Dr. Chau - Tuesday July 26

(from Dr. Chau - patient names have been changed)
The day started with beautiful clear blue skies, a good sign.

I started my day with a customary greeting from A_, our regular rehabilitation patient. He has gotten so comfortable that he no longer gets up to greet me but wags his tail from his bed and nods me a “hello”. A_, is one of our regular rehabilitation patients we treat twice weekly. He spends approximately 5 hours with us waiting his 1hr rehabilitation session. A_ is our special patient. We view him as one of our own beloved pet as we see him so often and have been through many medical hurdles with us. At the fine age of 9.5years, he has been through a femoral head ostectomy at an early age to prevent against hip dysplasia and recently had surgery to remove a heptoma (liver mass) from his liver. A_, being 114lbs is now suffering from osteoarthritis and has become a long-term member of our rehabilitation workout. He also gets routine acupuncture and laser therapy, both to manage his pain and recently acquired a new hock brace to help with his progressive hyperextension of his right hock. A_ is a delight and the love of his pet’s mother’s life and ours as well. He gets a special spot in our hospital (i.e. my office), as it is large enough for him to spread out.

B_ is one of our “old lady” Labradors—here for rehabilitation as well. B_ looks at me from her padded bed as if to say, “you again” and goes back to sleep. We are rehabilitating B_ to help strengthen her hind end. She used to scuff her rear limbs when walking, but since starting her on our rehabilitation program and underwater treadmill, she no longer scuffs her rear limbs and has good endurance. She has also been through multiple medical hurdles including a laryngeal tieback to help with her laryngeal paralysis and pneumonia. Both A_ and B_ go through similar rehabilitation exercises including cavaletti poles, weaving, stepping up and stretching, to name a few exercises.

Today, we also had a visit from another patient that we are putting in our underwater treadmill twice weekly for 20minutes. His name is C_ and he is a beautiful, majestic Newfoundland. At a weight of approximately 149lbs, he is recovering from a cranial cruciate tear (equivalent to the ACL of people) for which he has had surgery to repair. We are seeing him to also manage his degenerative joint disease of the hips, knees and back through: exercise, acupuncture, chiropractic and physical therapy. His pet parents are making him as strong as possible during his senior years. He looks great and has great mobility.

D_, a jack Russell was also seen today. Down to one eye, she looks at me through a remaining sick eye. She lost her one eye to glaucoma and hypertension (high blood pressure) and now is here for hospitalization with vomiting and not eating. I have a suspicion D_ may have pancreatitis as her general bloodwork has ruled out internal organ disease. D_ has also been through many medical hurdles one being a recent surgery to remove calcium oxalate stones, protein losing kidney disease and management of hypertension. Today, my licensed veterinary technician placed an IV catheter into her cephalic vein and we gave Lactated Ringers Solution via IV throughout the day. We also administered other IV medications including an anti-vomiting medication and already she was looking a little brighter. We took an abdominal x-ray to make sure she did not eat anything or had an obstruction and sent out blood to rule out pancreatitis. We will keep our fingers crossed for D_ to recover as sometimes the best solution to bowel disease or vomiting is rest.

The rest of my day was pretty routine. I spent the day with a 13week old Great Dane that was dropped off for vomiting and defecating worms (luckily treatable). At the age of 13weeks, he is already 42lbs! What a sweetie he is and what great manners he had in our hospital run he was in. Not a peep from him during his stay and treatment. He was fast asleep on our cot when I snuck a peek to see what he was “up” to midday.

The rest of the day was spent on wellness-exams and vaccines including two beagles, and a Papastzu (can you guess what designer breed that is?)

One of our patients, E_, was seen today by the neurologist for an MRI. She was tentatively diagnosed for Idiopathic head tremors (her head bobs involuntarily) and samples were taken via a CSF tap to look for potential causes of possible meningitis.

Our last patient was F_, a geriatric Australian Shepard. We drew blood to make sure his organs were not having any reactions to his long-term pain meds.

We also did several urinalysis and fecal floatations that were brought in for review and answered many refills, advice-calls and made follow-up calls. That’s about it to wrap up what is a normal day here at Family Veterinary Hospital. What will tomorrow bring?

Oh, and a Papastzu is a cross between a Papillon and a Shih Tzu. First one I have seen.

Dr. Chau
July 26, 2011

Family Veterinary Hospital of Stone Ridge
24650 South Point Drive, Ste. 140
Chantilly, VA 20152
www.family-vet.com
703 327-8425