 TOA
PAYOH VETS
toapayohvets.com
Date:
23 March, 2013
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Focus: Small
animals - dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs & rabbits |
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The old Sheltie has a
cauliflower lump
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS
Date:
23 March, 2013
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 toapayohvets.com
Be Kind To Pets
Veterinary Education
Project 2010-0129 |
Sunday Mar 10, 2013
I was reviewing this Sheltie
X's case, operated by Dr
Daniel 3 days ago, using
electro-surgery to excise
the large gingival mass.
In this surgery, intubation
is compulsory as it takes a
longer time to excise this
lump. Electro-cautery to
seal the bleeders. Monosyn
2/0 sutures were used to
close the large wound after
electro-excision. I asked Dr
Daniel what was the post-op
situation 3 days after op
now?
"Any stitch breakdown or
complaint from the owner?"
"No news," he said. He
phoned the owner but the
line was busy.
"You can text to her," I
advised.
After 10 minutes, I phoned
the owner. The mother said:
"I have not checked the
mouth, but the dog is OK."
She asked the daughter to
check the mouth but she
would not want to do it.
"I will check for you," she
replied. "The stitches are
still there."
"Give soft food or dry food
with water for the next 14
days," I advised.
"My Sheltie is eating dry
food with water all the
time," she said.
"How long was the gum tumour
there?"
"I don't know. Four months
probably."
"One month," the daughter
said.
"If the tumour grows so fast
and so large within one
month, it is likely to be
cancerous and will recur," I
advised.
This is an cauliflower-type
gingival lump. Could it be
malignant? Since the owner
did not want histology,
there is no way to know its
nature.
It is good practice to build
up client loyalty in this
competitive world. Getting
feedback from the owner
after surgery is one
excellent way to show you
care.
But many of us don't do it
often esp. if the vet has 40
cases a day to handle and is
mentally exhausted at the
end of the day. Too
many customers/vet does not
mean it is a good thing as
each case becomes a
bottom-line figure rather
than a personal involvement
and continued education
through follow up on the
clinical or surgical
outcomes. Follow ups make a
vet hone his skill and
become better at the next
case as no vet knows
everything and every case is
so much different. .
In Singapore, busy owners
may need repeated dialing or
to phone their residence
number just to communicate
with them. Some don't return
calls and some don't have
time to talk! Sometimes I
just text the message to
them and we never talked at
all since text messages are
so convenient.
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Update
will be on this webpage:
www.bekindtopets.com/stories/20130323gingival_tumour_toapayohvets.htm
 More
info at:
Dogs or
Cats
To make an appointment:
e-mail
judy@toapayohvets.com
tel: +65 9668-6469, 6254-3326 |
Toa
Payoh Vets
Clinical Research |
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