PCVMA Important News – PCVMA BASEBALL OUTING
Posted in Latest Pinellas County Veterinary News
PCVMA BASEBALL OUTING
Over 80 veterinarians, staff, friends and families enjoyed a wonderful Saturday evening at Tropicana Field.
Thanks to Hill’s Pet Nutrition and Idexx Laboratories who sponsored our annual event.
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Latest PCVMA Newsletter
Posted in View PCVMA Newsletters
PCVMA News Letter 01/2019 Volume:30 No.:1
President’s Message
Dear PCVMA Members,
Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great Holiday Season. We’re excited for a great 2019, for the PCVMA. New board member elections will take place at our January meeting, so please come out and show your support. Our first meeting will be hosted by Dechra and will cover Cushing’s Disease.
Sincerely,
Hillary Maedel, DVM
President | PCVMA
Northeast Animal Hospital
TREASURER’S REPORT – 2018 PCVMA DUES ARE DUE
Please support your county organization providing you with information and opportunities on continuing education, political/legislative issues, business/financial issues, Pharmacy & Laws and Rules required CE and social events throughout the year. Practice owners, please help your associates with their membership and the PCVMA with your continued support.
Dues are $100.00 per year per veterinarian.
Checks and inquires can be address to:
Dr. Ernest Godfrey
PCVMA Treasurer
Pinellas Animal Hospital
7791 52nd Street North
Pinellas Park, FL 33781
WOULD EVERYONE TAKE A MINUTE TO REVIEW ANY CLASSSIFIED ADS YOU MAY HAVE POSTED IN THIS NEWS LETTER. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT THEM REMOVED, OTHERWISE YOU MAY CONTINUE TO GET LOTS OF UNNECESSARY PHONE CALLS OR E-MAILS. ANY CORECTIONS ARE ALSO WELCOME.
PCVMA ANNUAL END OF YEAR BOARD MEETING 2018
November 28, 2018
Attendance: PCVMA BOD – Drs. Howell, Maedel, McHenry, Godfrey and
Donovan. PCVMA members and PAF BOD attending jointly
were Drs. Morgan, Moore, Buisson, Jones, Klemawesch, Larson,
Raver and your new PAF BOD member Dr. Camille Andrews.
President’s Report: Dr. Howell gave verbal report of the year. All went well.
Treasurer’s Report: Dr. Godfrey reported that we had received $19,700.00
in dues against $14,031.28 in meeting and event activities during
the year.
.Secretary’s Report: Dr. McHenry reported the minutes of April 2018.
Motion/2nd/Accepted
Meeting Schedule for 2019: Dr. Maedel outlined the following meetings.
January 14, 2019 – Cushing’s Disease – Dechra – Bascom’s
February 18, 2019 – Open
March 18, 2019 – TBD – Zoetis – Bascom’s
April 15, 2019 – TBD – BI/Merial – Bascom’s
May – Please Attend the FVMA Conference in Tampa
June 17, 2019 – Cervical Myelopathy – SCAN – Dr. Jim Cook
July 20, 2019 – PCVMA Baseball Game – Hill’s/Idexx -Tropicana
August 19, 2019 – Oncology – BluePearl – Bascom’s
September 7, 2019 – BOWser & CATsino Ball-Belleair Country Club
October 21, 2019 – TBD – Merck – Bascom’s
November 18, 2019 – TBD – Idexx – Bascom’s
December – No Meeting – Happy Holidays
General discussion and agreement : Bascom’s charges $75.00
for plated dinners with two drink tickets. Most sponsors have a
limit on what they can spend. Board members agreed that
Bascom’s was an great place to have our meetings. Centrally
located, well known, great food and service and we have always
been treated fairly. We decided to continue to have our meeting
there even if we need to supplement the cost from PCVMA funds.
We also discussed having unsponsored meetings with local
speakers and using membership dues/PCVMA funds to pay.
Election of Officers and Directors:
President – Dr. Hillary Maedel – Plantation Animal Hospital
BOD voted to have the President serve a two year term.
President-Elect – open
Past President – Dr. Don Howell – Midway Animal Hospital
Secretary – Dr. Samantha McHenry – Midway Animal Hospital
Serving last of a two year term
Treasurer – Dr. Ernie Godfrey – Pinellas Animal Hospital
Serving last of a two year term
Directors – Dr. Janell Dowling – Serving the last year of a two year
term.
Drs. Kim Donovan, Michael Rumore and Mark Scribano.
Served their last year of two year terms and up for re-election.
Dr. Donovan wishes to be re-elected to the BOD.
Drs. Rumore and Scribano were not at the meeting and no
response of their intentions at this time.
Drs. Marie Raver, Joel Murphy and Scott Trefz have agreed to
have their names on the ballot for election at the January 14th
meeting of the PCVMA at Bascom’s Chop House.
Tallahassee FVMA Legislative Days: March 12-14th.
Drs. Howell and Maedel will be representing the PCVMA
Drs. Klemawesch, Godfrey and Morgan will be representing
the PCVMA & FVMA.
Commissioner John Morroni Memorial Awards Banquet February 16th:
The PCVMA will be purchasing a table at the event; we have been
sponsoring the annual “Outstanding K-9 and Officer of the Year”
for several years. A great recognition for our organization.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Samantha McHenry | Secretary
PAF News
Posted in Latest Pinellas County Veterinary News, PAF News
Board members working and in attendance at the CE by the Sea were
(L-R) Ellen Gallo, Pet Professor, and Drs. Morgan, Larson, Moore, Certa and Maedel.
The PAF wishes to thank BluePearl Veterinary Partners and the many veterinarians and staff members attending for their generous donations.
PAF SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Presentation of $2500 in scholarships from the Bowser and Catsino Ball by Dr. Howell and Dr. Morgan were made to three well deserving SPC students at the SPC Open House honoring National Veterinary Technician Week.
(L to R)
First Place – Jessica Loperena $1,250.00 – Neonate Care
Third Place – Kristen Hulbert $500.00 – Anesthesia vs Non-Anesthesia Dentals
Second Place – Kaitlyn Pierce $750.00 – Deafness in Dolphins
Congratulations to all three of you. Another $2500.00 in scholarships will be awarded during the Spring Semester 2019.
Sincerely,
Donald H. Morgan DVM
President – PAF
Animal Services News
Posted in Animal Services News, Latest Pinellas County Veterinary News
Pinellas County Animal Services News
Detailing the Scrotal Approach to Canine Orchiectomy
With the growing popularity of implementing the scrotal approach to orchiectomy, I thought it was fitting to review and educate those unfamiliar with this procedure. Patients who have undergone this procedure may be showing up more and more frequently in clinics across Pinellas County and across the country for that matter. This procedure is currently the preferred technique where I work at Pinellas County Animal Services, so I speak from experience when I say it is a very beneficial technique, and one that may be finding its way into general practice more and more in the near future. So why is it that prescrotal castrations are performed on dogs by the mass majority of practicing veterinarians while many other species including cats, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, bulls and exotic pets routinely undergo scrotal castrations? According to an article by Phil Zeltzman, DVM, DACVS, CVJ “here’s the answer: there is no good reason other than habit, comfort, status quo and possibly a few misconceptions.” So let’s work through the procedure as well as similarities and differences and the pros and cons of the scrotal technique.
The first and potentially the most important part of the scrotal approach is the surgical preparation of the patient. When shaving the surgical site it is important to use small clippers with a sharp blade. It is imperative to avoid razor burn or laceration while shaving. Doing this can lead to a much higher incidence of self-mutilation post operatively. It is better for the patient to leave a small amount of hair around the length of a five o’clock shadow than to cause micro abrasions which can allow bacterial infiltration and secondary infection.
The surgical approach is very straight forward. Isolate the first testicle to be removed and make a small incision (usually approximately 1/3 the length of the testicle itself) either over or just adjacent to the median raphe. Once the testicle is exteriorized and the tissues are stripped down to reveal the isolated spermatic cord, your preferred surgical technique (open vs closed, single vs double ligation, etc.) may be implemented. Once the testicle has been severed from the cord, confirm hemostasis and return to the body. Repeat the procedure with the second testicle.
As far as the closure is concerned there are a few basic schools of thought. On one hand some surgeons prefer to leave the incision open to heal by second intention or partially open with only one or two subcutaneous sutures tacking it closed. Both techniques allow for some drainage. The other approach is to close completely using skin glue and or intradermal sutures allowing no drainage to occur. Unfortunately there have not been sufficient studies to determine the “ideal” closure technique. At this point it comes down to surgeon’s preference until further research is done. I prefer to allow some drainage as I have found a seemingly lower incidence of seroma or scrotal hematoma formation however I urge anyone interested in performing the scrotal approach to explore the closure options for themselves.
While there are many pros to this technique delineated in a recent Clinician’s Brief article put out by the University of Florida, only one drawback was listed. That is the possibility of postoperative drainage. They denote that this can be managed by performing a splash block of epinephrine and lidocaine (mixed in a ratio of 1 to 9, respectively) for added analgesia and vasoconstriction. Another few tricks would be to apply a pressure bandage for a brief period of time postoperatively, ice the surgical site, ALWAYS keep an Elizabethan collar on the patient, consider scrotal ablation when indicated, and consider keeping the patient overnight to ensure inactivity. The pros which were mentioned in this article consisted of reduced surgical and anesthetic time, reduced suture material, smaller incision, less pain and self-trauma, elimination of risk of urethral ligation/laceration/suturing, easy identification of postoperative hemorrhage, lower incidence of scrotal hematoma formation, and reduced likelihood of seroma formation.
In summation, the scrotal approach to orchiectomy should start to become well known to all veterinarians in the years to come. Becoming informed now as to how the procedure is done, its pros, and its cons will help to further your knowledge of veterinary medicine, and prepare you for when you may be presented with a pet that has undergone this procedure. As a bonus, hopefully some of you will give the procedure a try for yourself! Your staff, clients, patients, and even your clinic operating budget may greatly benefit from it.
Erik Pindar, DVM
Pinellas County Animal Services
SPCA Tampa Bay News
Posted in Latest Pinellas County Veterinary News, SPCA Tampa Bay News
SPCA Tampa Bay
Happy Holidays from SPCA Tampa Bay!
Effective January 1st, 2019 we are changing the Adoption and Animal Intake operating hours. This change, which includes later work days, will help to accommodate our guests more time to visit us on the evenings, weekends and give our team extra time to tidy up & provide enrichment to our pets! We will also be utilizing this time to conduct group training sessions, job shadowing and cross-training within the different departments. Campus signage is being updated, and will be installed in the upcoming weeks.
2019 Operating Hours – Starting 01/02/19
Monday: Adoptions & Intake- Closed
Tuesday: Adoptions – Closed | Animal Intake – 1-6pm
Wed – Friday: Adoptions 1-7pm, Intake 1-6pm
Saturday & Sunday: Adoptions & Intake 10am-6pm
New Years resolutions are upon us, and why not help your clients with a suggestion: a better trained 4 legged family members (ok, well, mostly dogs) this year! New Dawn, our training partner, operating in Clearwater, has a number of classes for a variety of needs, and the proceeds from the training help benefit shelter programs. Check out the info at www.spcatampabay.org
We all know how shelter overpopulation is a constant frustration, not only locally, but across our country. Each year adoptable animals are euthanized due to constant population pressures at our shelters and rescues. SPCA Tampa Bay, as part of its mission at our hospital in St. Pete, offers high quality high volume spay neuter, at affordable prices. There are compromises, of course, with affordability, but we select only young and healthy pets for surgery (animals are declined if they have overt disease or problems), and our complication rate is extremely low, given we perform thousands of surgeries per year. If you have a good client that just needs an affordable spay/neuter option, consider a referral to SPCA Tampa Bay’s Veterinary Center. We already see a number of pets from other hospitals, and we actively reinforce maintaining their relationship for routine care at their primary vet. If anyone is curious about our facility or the protocols we use, don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Lopez, the Spay Neuter Program Services Director, at rlopez@spcatampabay.org, or call 727-220-1770.
We wish all our PCVMA colleagues and safe and happy New Year!
Rizal Lopez, DVM
SPCA Tampa Bay
SPCA of Tampa Bay
9099 130th Avenue North | Largo, FL 33773
727.499.0370 fax: 727.499.0368
St Peterburg College News
Posted in Latest Pinellas County Veterinary News, St Petersburg College News
St Petersburg College – College of Veterinary Nursing
Dr. Richard Flora will be retiring January 14th as Dean of SPC’s Clinical Health Programs and Veterinary Nursing after 14 years of commitment to the college and the veterinary nursing program. He has been an integral part of assuring that SPC’s College of Veterinary Nursing continues to be identified as one of the premiere veterinary nursing programs. This year, through Dr. Flora’s advocacy, SPC has officially changed the program title from School of Veterinary Technology to the College of Veterinary Nursing supporting NAVTA’s credentialing change of a unified title creating a national and global standard for veterinary nurses.
SPC’s College of Veterinary Nursing will be in attendance at VMX. Please stop by and visit us at Booth 380.
Cynthia Grey, DM
Associate Dean
College of Veterinary Nursing
St. Petersburg College |
727.302.6724 |
