[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: Lahela-Don't assume your vet is always honest.
- From: Cheryl Clay <cheryllclay@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 11:34:25 -0700 (PDT)
Hi,
I worked as a surgery tech for many many years and it was truly a rare occasion
a dog died due to a reaction to anesthesia. Jen was present when she lost her
baby so there is no denying what happened to her dog. I have one of Lahela's
son's and my heart goes out to her. I hate to think anyone is making her feel
as though she didn't take the right precautions or did an unnecessary
procedure.
I would like to discuss dogs that we are "told" have died from a "reaction to
anesthesia".
During the years I worked for vets I witnessed MANY stupid techs not doing
their job. Some examples would be letting the dog get too deep, tubing into the
esophagus and not the trachea, not checking the animals after surgery to make
sure their temp wasn't too low. I have also seen techs overdose the dogs with
telazol. You might be pretty surprised how much of the surgical process is in
the hands of a tech. All of these "oops" resulted in pets that died or came
really close.
Now let talk about the vets, I have seen them botch surgeries where the animal
didn't necessarily die but would need very expensive and tedious surgery at a
university to repair the damage they causes. Some vets just put these to sleep!
I once saw an older dog that was in for a dental die after the vet ignored the
fact it's glucose was high. He said it was high from "stress" and went ahead
with the surgery. This was a very talented orthopedic specialist as well.
After using the drug Rompum for many years with great results the clinic I
worked for went through a period where it was killing a lot of cats. I don't
know exactly what caused that to start happening but it became very obvious
after the 6th cat died. This wasn't the vets fault but they didn't tell the
owners what they thought had happened once they knew.
Instead of sharing this information with the owners they went another route and
said the animals had a "reaction to the anesthesia". I worked for 5 clinics
over a 7 year period, a total of 14 different vets. One of these clinics was a
dive but the others were quite good while 2 were AHHA accredited. They simply
didn't want to deal with the owners reaction and recourse.
Many of our clients agreed to the blood work on their dogs and other than a few
older dogs the values were always fine and didn't prevent us from doing the
surgery. I've never lost any of mine this way and yes I have always done blood
work. Now that I no longer do this kind of work and can't be there to monitor
what is going on with my own dog I cringe at the idea of handing them over and
trust that some tech that may have only worked there a few weeks is going to
make sure my dog gets the right dose and isn't allowed to get too deep.
After the dogs are given IV telazol and are tubed they are put on the gas. The
telazol is given in a light dose just so you can tube them and only works for a
couple minutes. So the techs turn the gas all the way up to 5 until the dog is
completely out. Most of the dogs that I saw die died because the tech "forgot"
and left them on 5 when they should be put down to 2 or 3 once they are
motionless.
If I had not seen these things I would certainly believe my vet if he told me
my dog died from a reaction to anesthesia but I have seen them lie to clients
too many times.
I also worked as a surgery tech for humans and do not have a big fear of
anesthesia itself. If it wasn't for worrying about the honesty/skill of the
staff I wouldn't think twice about having a dental done. Sadly, good blood work
is hardly a guarantee. It is very beneficial in letting you know how your pet
will filter the anesthesia but that is a very small part of having a successful
surgery.
Cheryl
---------------------------------
Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV.
============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE
PROSECUTED.
For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx
VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org
============================================================================
Other related posts:
