Welcome to our Central Broward Animal Hospital Blog!
Our Veterinarians with Some of their Pets
This is our first entry in our blog. Our plan is to give you a behind the scenes look into what goes on at your favorite Plantation FL animal hospital. We want you to experience veterinary medicine from the prospective of the doctors, the veterinary staff, and even Cody and Shea (the two dogs who work at the hospital). For all our clients and their pets in the Plantation, Ft. Lauderdale, Sunrise and Davie FL areas, our goal is to provide you with a behind-the-scene glimpse of our veterinary hospital. We want you to understand what we do and even learn from our experiences. Some of our blogs will make you laugh and others might make you cry. Some may just be interesting and educational.
Just the other day I was walking out of my office into our treatment area (the main working hub of Central Broward Animal Hospital) and I saw Dr. Powers standing over Muffin, a grey domestic shorthair cat (“vet talk “for mixed breed cat), connected to an ECG/pulse oximeter and I asked Dr. Powers, “What’s going on?” She calmly said back, “I took an x-ray and he’s blocked with a potassium of 7.2.” (Actually Muffin’s lab values showed that he was in kidney failure with a very high potassium – the most dangerous type of kidney failure). Dr. Powers has been working as a veterinarian at Central Broward Animal Hospital for over 3 years and no matter what the situation is, she is always calm. Actually, a blocked cat with potassium of 7.2 is an extreme medical emergency and requires careful and immediate attention. It is one of the most stressful emergencies that can occur at an animal hospital. No matter – Dr. Powers was as cool as can be.
A “blocked cat “ is another “vet talk” term. It is a blockage that occurs in the urethra/penis of a cat and as a result, the cat cannot urinate. The obstruction is usually made up of many small crystals and mucus that form a plug which prevents urine flow. Since the urine cannot exit through the penis, it accumulates in the cat’s bladder. As a result, the bladder becomes overextended, grows to an enormous size (like a balloon) and is very painful. The pressure becomes so great in the bladder that the urine backs up into the kidneys and within a few hours causes kidney failure. With kidney failure, the delicate chemical balance of the cat’s body is disrupted and toxins build up in the bloodstream – including potassium. A potassium level of 7.2 is dangerously high and can lead to sudden cardiac arrest if not treated swiftly.
One of the more rewarding things about being a veterinarian is successfully saving animals’ lives and relieving pain they might have. Our goal was to save Muffin’s life, but saving his life was going to be tricky. The first thing to do was relieve the urinary blockage by placing a catheter through the penis into Muffin’s bladder so that urine could start flowing again. Not so simple. Trying to pass a catheter while Muffin was awake would be difficult to do and painful to him and any struggling on his part would cause the heart to race and result in a possible sudden heart attack due to the high potassium levels. But placing Muffin under general anesthesia with kidney failure also has a similar risk – a fatal heart attack. A decision would have to be made: either pass a catheter without anesthesia and risk a sudden cardiac arrest or pass a catheter with anesthesia and run that same risk of a cardiac death. The question becomes which choice gives Muffin better odds.
Dr. Powers elected to use anesthesia. An IV catheter was placed in his vein and the gas anesthesia was carefully administered. Muffin’s eyes slowly closed and he was asleep. But before Dr. Powers could get started inserting the urinary catheter to relieve the obstruction, the ECG revealed an abnormal heart rhythm – a risk from the combination of kidney failure and the anesthesia. The cool Dr. Powers carefully and precisely gave medication to help stabilize the heart: calcium gluconate, insulin and dextrose. She then was able to insert the urinary catheter into the bladder and voila! urine emptied from the bladder onto the table and the blockage was relieved!
But Muffin was not out of the woods yet. His kidneys would have to start working again to achieve normal potassium levels and to eliminate the toxins from his body. I am happy to report that the next day his kidneys did start working again and all his lab values became closer to normal and Muffin felt much, much better. An abdominal ultrasound was done to get a better look at the bladder and kidneys which both looked great. Muffin, though still hospitalized, should continue on to a normal recovery! It was a great day to be a veterinarian. Congratulations Dr. Powers!
Jonathan R. Wald, DVM
Dr. Powers and Muffin