Zoey - Canine Pet of the Month September 2020
Zoey is a sweet, cute, playful and active girl! This was not the case when we first met her In May. At that time, she presented for sudden onset weakness, near collapse, dehydration and vomiting. Her owners said it came on quickly and she deteriorated rapidly.
Upon exam, she had dark bloody diarrhea, depression and weakness. Multiple diagnostic tests showed some “textbook” changes that pointed to a relatively tricky and somewhat uncommon disease – Addison’s Disease (or Hypoadrenocorticism) Its symptoms can mimic many other possible diseases. Due to the abrupt changes in her bloodwork common to an Addisonian Crisis dog in shock we were able to act quickly with further tests and treatments, including a key ingredient, Steroids.
With hospitalization and appropriate treatment, Zoey responded wonderfully. Follow-up visits ensured that her medication doses were correct. She will require special treatments for the rest of her life and may even need oral steroid dose adjustments during stressful life events. However, with proper treatment, she can live a normal life again. Amazingly enough, Zoey’s owners said she actually feels better than before she was sick, meaning that she probably had symptoms when it seemed she was being a “normal” dog.
She feels better than ever! We are so happy with her progress and so proud to put her as AHS’s canine Pet of the Month!
Snarfle - Feline Pet of the Month September 2020
Snarfle is a sweet middle-aged kitty who came to his owners with a head tilted to the left, a long-term ear infection on the left and an upper respiratory infection. The ear infection was likely so deep and severe that it affected the middle ear which houses the balance center and the hearing apparatus. Snarfle subsequently developed a head tilt. Many treatments had been performed prior but none of them seemed to resolve or manage this ear infection or respiratory signs. Snarfle came in as a new patient to see what other options were available to help his quality of life. Snarfle was very lethargic and not eating well. He had tremendous, thick, suppurative material or pus in his left ear and very loud, congested breathing. The left ear was so full of material that the deeper portions of the ear could not be visualized. Antibiotics were started for some of the respiratory congestion and a flush with antibiotics to reduce the ear drainage and pain medication. After a few days Snarfle had very little relief and a sedation procedure was scheduled subsequently to better examine the mouth, nose and ears with surgical flushing of the ears. On sedation, Snarfle had an oropharyngeal polyp. This is a mass of tissue behind the soft palate in the mouth arising from the eustachian tube in the ear. Likely, Snarfle had chronic infection in his middle ear that led to inflammation and subsequent polyp development from his middle ear into his oral cavity. This is not uncommon in cats. After irrigating his left ear with a video otoscope, a large polyp was also detected in the left ear emerging through the tympanic membrane or ear drum. These polyps grew from middle ear inflammation and infection and emerged into the outer ear canal and the pharynx, or throat. After polyp development, it is very difficult to resolve infections of the ear without surgery. This usually entails a CT scan and a surgeon to enter the skull bulla that houses the middle ear. The area is irrigated and debrided. Special skill is needed because very important nerves are in that area and it can be detrimental if they are damaged. Simply trying to remove the polyps can lead to such damage as well and there is a higher rate of recurrence. Due to quality of life and morbidity time, Snarfle’s owner elected to have us try to remove the polyps and continue the ear irrigation. The polyps in the ear were gently removed with gentle traction and during irrigation, a large amount of pus emerged from the middle portion of the ear. A pocket has been opened with the irrigation and drained and flushed. The oral polyp has retracted and was not visible after the procedure. Snarfle recovered well and his left ear looks great. Removal of the polyp and opening the middle ear abscess made a tremendous difference. Snarfle is still undergoing some therapy in the right ear in addition to having a recurrent oral pharyngeal polyp likely removed but overall, has a much better quality of life. Snarfle has an unusual story and is a really sweet boy. That is why he is AHS’s feline Pet of the Month.
Snarfle is a sweet middle-aged kitty that presented with a head tilt, an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. The ear infection was very deep, which caused Snarfle to develop the head tilt. Nothing to this point had helped to resolve his ear infection or the URI. Snarfle was not eating well, and was lethargic.
After antibiotics did not relieve the infection, a sedation procedure was scheduled and a large polyp of tissue was found between his mouth and his ear. using the video otoscope. His ear was irrigated using the Video Otoscope. Due to the decline in Snarfle’s quality of life, Snarfle’s owner elected to have us try to remove the polyps and continue the ear irrigation. Another option would have been a CT scan and a complicated surgery. Using the Video Otoscope, the polyps in his ear were removed with gentle traction and during irrigation, a large amount of pus emerged from the middle portion of the ear. A pocket was opened with the irrigtation and was drained and flushed. The polyp in the mouth has retracted and was no longer visible after the procedure. Snarfle recovered well, and his left ear looks great. Removal of the polyp and opening the middle ear abscess made a tremendous difference. Snarfle is still undergoing some therapy in the right ear in addition to having a recurrent polyp likely removed, but overall, Snarfle has a much better quality of life. Snarfle has an unusual story and is a really sweet boy. That is why he is AHS’s feline Pet of the Month.