Acupuncture Awareness Week

Phillip Elliot MRCVS

As it is accupuncture awareness week I thought it would be nice to share how acupuncture  has been helping pets at Pennard Vets.

I have been taking acupuncture consultations at Pennards for about 5 years now and have treated about 120 animals.  Approximately 90% of these are dogs, 9% cats and 1% rabbits!

They are all animals suffering with pain usually resulting from arthritis where the usual analgesics (pain killers) aren’t working as well as they used to or if an underlying medical condition precludes their use.

The response I have seen in some cases is remarkable. An old arthritic dog comes hobbling into the consult room on week one turns into a bright bouncy dog bounding in by week four.

About 80% of cases respond to acupuncture and this response can range from very mild improvement to spectacular success. In fact, in some cases, owners have been so impressed with their animals’ response that they have gone for acupuncture themselves for their aches and pains. Not by me I should add!

While there are numerous scientific studies that prove the effect and benefits of acupuncture there is still a lot we don’t know about how it actually works.  It stimulates certain nerves in the body which causes endorphin release (the bodies’ natural pain killers) and seems to block pain pathways to the brain.

It has been around for thousands of years and while most people are familiar with it being an integral part of tradition Chinese medicine it has also been used in most other civilizations such as Australian aborigines, Native American Indians, and even Inuit Eskimos where they use sharpened slivers of seal and whale bone.

I usually see cases referred to me by my colleagues here at Pennards but have also accepted cases from other practices in the area as well. 

Acupuncture cases

‘Benson’ an 8 year old Labrador

Benson was referred to me by his vet with a history of walking stiffly and a reluctance and difficulty of rising from a lying position. X-rays had revealed multiple areas of severe spondylosis (bridging arthritis between vertebrae) to the spine.

A course of acupuncture, consisting of 4 sessions a week apart, was prescribed.

Benson was much better even after just the first session. He was much more comfortable. The stiffness went and he was able to jump up from lying down.

This improvement lasted for 9 months and a one off ‘top-up’ session was given when he deteriorated again, which bounced him back to full fitness.

‘Sasha’ a 12 year old Doberman

Sasha presented with a history of pain to the right carpus (wrist), left hip and neck with tenderness to the spine also.

She had 4 sessions of acupuncture which worked well. The owner reported she was much happier and didn’t seem lame and was more willing to go for walks.

 This lasted for about 5-6 weeks at which point she seemed to slow down and become painful again. We gave her a one off session and within hours she was better again. This pattern continued with a one off top up acupuncture session every 5-6 weeks.

‘Delphi’ a 10year old Golden retriever

Delphi had severe arthritis and pain to the right knee. She had been on pain relief for some time which seemed to keep her comfortable.

One day she presented extremely lame and wasn’t able to use this leg at all. The knee joint was severely swollen and very painful. We initially thought that she had sustained a fracture near this joint but on x-ray this was found just to be an acute flare up of the arthritis.  The pain killers she was on didn’t seem to help at all and the owner was seriously considering having to put her to sleep due to the pain she was in.

We tried some acupuncture and the effect was miraculous. The owner phoned the next day to report that Delphi was up running around and seemed like a new dog. She went on to have regular acupuncture sessions and continued to respond well.

‘Bubu’ an 11 year old cat

Bubu was a stray cat that couldn’t find a home. Eventually she was adopted by one of the Vets at the Sevenoaks branch.

She had arthritis to her back possibly caused by a previous injury and found it difficult to jump or groom herself properly. She started having acupuncture and was markedly better after her first session and now continues to have acupuncture sessions when she becomes sore again.

Welcome to our Cat Friendly Clinic at Pennard Vets Tonbridge!

In the summer we were delighted to be the first veterinary clinic in Kent to achieve the Silver standard in the Cat Friendly Clinic scheme, which is run by the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) in conjunction with the FelineAdvisory Bureau (FAB).

The scheme ensures that clinics have achieved certain standards for accreditation, demonstrating our clinic is designed with cats in mind, and staff think about the specific needs of cats and appreciate the care and nursing requirements of our feline patients.

The accreditation scheme demonstrates that we;

·      Understand the unique needs of cats and have made the visits to us more cat friendly

·      Understand how to approach and handle cats in a gentle, empathetic and caring manner

·      Have good standards of equipment needed to investigate and treat feline diseases

·      Have good standard of facilities and care for hospitalized cats

A requirement of being a Cat Friendly Clinic is to have a nominated member of staff as the ‘Cat Advocate’ for the Clinic. This important role has been taken on by Claire Ross RVN who “was delighted to take on this role and apply the ‘cat friendly’ principles in all aspects of the feline care throughout the clinic”. Claire has an Advanced Award in Feline Friendly Nursing from FAB and regularly runs our Feline Evenings for new cat owners full of great information.

This recognition of what we do for our feline patients has been great for our team and ensures we continue to ‘think cat’!

A Weekday in a Life of a Pennard's Vet, Sevenoaks Branch

A WEEK DAY IN A LIFE OF A PENNARD’S VET SEVENOAKS BRANCH

07:45 – 08:00: I’ve usually arrived at the practice so I can settle in, check messages/emails and peruse the diary for the day to familiarise myself with patients coming in for the day.

08:00-08:30: This is the time when ward rounds are done where we have a ‘hand over’ of any patients seen out of hours the previous night. It is also the time to catch up on any ‘in patients’ that I might have admitted during the previous day. It gives us the opportunity to formulate the plan for the day for the patient, do a physical examination and also call owners with an update on how their beloved pet is doing.

08:30-11:00: This is where life gets interesting. We have a rota which changes on a daily basis so ours days are never the same. For instance, today I was in the hospital on ‘operations’, so from 08:30-9am I was admitting day patients for their procedures.  Another day I might be on consultations.

This morning we had an emergency where a dog was brought in after being involved in a road traffic accident. One of the consulting vets admitted the dog as an extra on the morning consult list. Obviously this does delay the other consultations when this happens but we are lucky that clients understand. Naturally the dog took precedence over the other procedures/operations booked in for the day. Once the adrenaline of dealing with such an exciting/traumatic emergency had settled down and we had stabilised the patient normality resumed. We also had a visiting specialist who performed a few ultrasounds for us on complicated cases and who could take special ultrasound guided biopsies for us.

11:00 – 13:00: I will either be in the full swing of surgery by now, in the midst of consulting until 1pm or finishing up my 11am consults. The vet that finishes at 11am has the responsibility of checking the prescription diary and dispensing the medications before going up to the hospital to help out with any operations/investigative procedures. It is also at this time (if the hospital isn’t too busy) that we may do urgent house calls.

14:00 – 16:00: I may be on afternoon consultations at this time.

However, if I am not consulting I use these two hours to perform checks on my hospitalised patients or just give them a cuddle (I do like to give my patients lots of kisses much to the amusement of my colleagues). I also use this time to catch up with paper work (which there is a lot of), call owners with any test results/answering queries or doing referrals. House visits that we were unable to do in the morning are also arranged for this time. Occasionally, we also do any extra emergency consultations or procedures that have been admitted in the afternoon. We also try to help out our consulting colleagues if they are running late (generally because one or two consultations are more involved than anticipated).

Clients often ask or wonder why our telephonists question them about why they are requesting an appointment; this is usually so booking can be performed so the vet has enough time to discuss the many problems a patient may come to us with. In this way we try to reduce waiting times but this is not always possible.

16:00-18:00: Afternoon consultations, if we are fully staffed the vet who will have started consultations at 2pm might be on ‘office’. Again Office time might be just that i.e. to catch up with paper work and making/taking calls; however it can also involve seeing extra emergency appointments, house visits or emergency surgery. Last week during this time we had a stitch up one day, a run of grass seeds that needed to be removed from various ears and abdominal x-rays on a suspected ‘foreign body’ being trapped somewhere along the intestines. It’s during this time that clients can come and visit their pets if they are hospitalised, an important part in their recovery I feel.

18:00 -19:00: Although consultations have stopped, the phones are switched over to the emergency mobile and the doors are closed, we still have some work to do. This entails evening ward rounds to hand over the inpatients to the out of hour’s emergency vet and discuss the treatment or investigative plan for the evening. It also gives me an opportunity to call owners and give them an update on their pet in hospital. I understand how worried owners must be if they have an ill pet in hospital so I try to make contact as much as possible. I also like to call owners if any tests results have come in later in the afternoon, as it’s one less thing to do tomorrow.

19:00: Hopefully I am at home/leaving to go home to have dinner or when I am not feeling super lazy may be some exercise….

Let's Go Walkies!

Let’s Go Walkies!

Written by Keri Holmes, Vet at Pennard Vets Tonbridge

Finally summer has arrived (although that is a fluid concept in this country and it could still change its mind at any moment!) so what better way to kick it off than with a lovely stroll in the park!

As part of a team from Pennard Vets, along with their dogs, I joined the The Guide Dogs Association on a walk in Knole Park for pooches and their people on Sunday the 27^th May.  We were all very pleased to see children and adults alike arrive with their four legged friends of all shapes and sizes to raise money for such a worthy cause.  In sponsoring our dogs we have all helped to raise money that will go towards enriching the lives of blind and partially sighted people all over the country.

At 7 years of age, Isabella was Pennard’s youngest participant.  She did the one mile walk with Anna (one of Bob’s dogs) and thoroughly enjoyed her self.  I was bringing up the rear for most of the way on the 3 mile walk as we had to make several ‘pit stops’ for my little’un (bless him – I think it was his nerves from all the excitement).  Let’s just say I was grateful to the practice for the provision of all the free poo bags!

There was one VERY cute pooch (who shall remain nameless but deserves a mention J) who managed to pull off a genius manoeuvre that brought him freedom from the lead for about 5 minutes.  He did a few victory laps of the gazebo at full speed before reuniting with his family.  I must say that all the dogs that took part were on their best behaviour and their owners should all be extremely proud!

Doing the walk in the 26 degree heat the free bottled water provided by Pennards went down an absolute treat.  I discovered that some dogs even have a talent for drinking directly from the bottle!  The goodie bags and treats galore were gratefully received by all and some fantastic prizes were won on the tombola.

We would like to thank Marion and the Guide Dog Team for organising the event impeccably – there wasn’t a single aspect of the day that hadn’t been thoroughly thought out and this allowed for a smooth, enjoyable day.  Thanks also to The National Trust at Knole Park for providing us with a beautiful setting for our walk.

Last but not least, a massive thank you to all of the dogs and walkers for taking part and our clients being so generous with your sponsorship.  Thank you all!

Click here for Pennard Vets Website

May's Bravery Award Goes To Kia!

Kia, an 8 year old Border Collie was first brought into the surgery by her owner, as she was vomiting and pyrexic. She was admitted for intravenous fluid therapy, internal blood tests and for any medication required. Abdominal radiographs were taken to see if there was an obstruction which was causing the vomiting. This showed no obstructions or foreign bodies. Kia was given pain relief and was slowly re-introduced back to food once she hadn’t vomited for 24 hours. After 48 hours of not vomiting, Kia had improved and was sent home. 
Unfortunately Kia was re-admitted to the hospital, after she started to vomit again and was placed back on intravenous fluids with symptomatic medication. Abdominal x-rays were re-taken but this time showed signs of a possible foreign body in the caudal abdomen. It was decided to perform a exploratory laporotomy (surgical procedure into the abdomen), to find the foreign body. 
On exploration there was no foreign body present but samples were taken from different sections of the gastro-intestinal tract to send to an external laboratory. Kia was very subdued after her operation and was coughing due to the irritation causing by the endotracheal tube (this is used to maintain their airways during surgery). 
The results from the samples showed inflammation in the gastro-intestinal tract and she was started on steroids to reduce this. Kia started to improve; she hadn’t vomited for three days and was much happier so was sent home. 
Three days later Kia’s owners brought her back to the surgery as she was still vomiting, she was admitted for a barium radiographic study. This is when a radioopaque substance is administered, showing up any irregularities in the gastro-intestinal tract on an x-ray. This showed that she had a megaoesophagus, this is when the muscle in the oesophagus that moves the food down to the stomach is not functioning and causes the oesophagus to dilate. This is easily managed by feeding a small amount of food often and from a height. After a difficult start Kia started to improve and her owners made her a special chair to sit in during eating (see picture).
Even though Kia’s diagnosis was complicated, she was brave throughout every procedure and was so loving towards all members of staff. Kia was always strong and patient, this is why we feel she truly deserves this bravery award.