Sometimes your pets deserve a second opinion, too

Publication: The Frederick News-Post;

Date: Sep 23, 2007;

Section: Sports;

Page: B-10

Sometimes your pets deserve a second opinion, too

By DIANA CLEMENT Special to the News-Post

    EVERYONE HAS A tale about an illness that turned out not to be what it seemed. These stories are interesting because they are rare. Most of us suffer colds and though everyone knows antibiotics can’t fix a virus, we want medicine to feel better. Doctors do their best to educate parents that some things just need to run a course and if we have misgivings about doctor’s orders, we ask for a second opinion or go to a specialist.

    The same conditions exist for our non human family members and their doctors. However, there is a big difference. In the case of family pets, if a diagnosis is too foreboding, because of cost or effect on the pet’s perceived quality of life, the treatment may be a recommendation for euthanasia. Because of the severity of such a decision, second opinions and specialized medicine are even more important for a pet than for ourselves. Specialist? You mean they have specialists for pets?

    Absolutely. One confounding characteristic of veterinary medicine is that instead of specializing in one species (human) and then one organ system (cardiology) and then a particular age group (pediatric), veterinarians must know it all and then some. It’s not enough to understand how the multiple digestive organs work in a calf, a veterinarian must also know that a guinea pig can’t take penicillin. Since veterinary patients can’t answer specific questions about their symptoms, you have a situation ripe for error. In times of stress, such as at the vet’s office or in the animal shelter, pets may hide their symptoms. At the Frederick County Animal Control Center, pets may have an unknown history and don’t even have a caretaker to speak for them so it can be a real challenge for visiting vets to come to any conclusions about an individual pet’s health.

    It may not even be fair to call misdiagnoses “mistakes” in animal medicine because doctoring is an art with any species. Some work is inspired and some animals resist examination and treatment altogether. Add to this that someone has to pay the bill without the benefit of insurance, and there are many ideal situations that just don’t occur. What if your pet’s veterinarian could find out exactly what’s wrong with your rabbit with a $149 blood test? The outcome all depends on whether your rabbit is suffering and whether you can get your hands on a chunk of change. Even then, the laboratory has to be experienced and report the results to your veterinarian accurately.

    If you are in a situation in which your pet has significant symptoms and you are considering surgery or worse, ending your pet’s life, a second opinion, though it isn’t free, is sometimes the wisest investment. Lisa and Jared Genser of Bethesda recently reported just such a success to The Washington Post. Their beloved dog was diagnosed with bone cancer. Before ending his life, they elected to consult with an expert at Ohio State University. They are fortunate to have waited because their dog, Finnegan is doing fine after the specialist found a laboratory error in the original test results.

    Some folks worry that asking for a referral will insult their trusted family veterinarian. Dr. Blount, of Nacogdoches, Texas, says nothing could be further from the truth. Blount sees referral cases every Wednesday at a local clinic at the veterinarian’s request. The veterinarian who runs the clinic understands he can’t know it all and wants the best for his clients and patients. The Veterinary Clinics of America has a Veterinary Referral Center in Gaithersburg that has specialists in oncology, emergency care, internal medicine, neurology and surgery. No need to go to all the way to Ohio State.

    Local veterinarians may also choose to treat a certain population of patients. Kingsbrook Animal Hospital has a Board Certified Avian Veterinarian. That’s good for me because my regular vet does not see parrots, just dogs and cats. He’s also married to me and fears if he studies a new species I’ll just adopt another mouth to feed. So remember that misdiagnosis is still rare, but that a second opinion is still the best defense.

PETS AND PEOPLE