We are happy to say that the first patient to be recieving photon radiation therapy is our new friend Brody! Brody is a 4 year old, medium sized, mixed breed dog who is being treated for a infiltrative lipoma on his neck. Due to the treatment type he does require anesthesia, and so far he is not a fan of us, but he seems to be coming around. He’s an adorable little pup who we can all see has a very sweet side. We just need to let it come out  We all look forward to seeing him progress through treatments.
 Brody!
 The best Greyhound ever! We are pleased to announce that our first patient to recieve Electron Radiation Therapy is Dante!! He is an 8 year old Greyhound undergoing surgical scar treatment for a Grade 1 Nerve Sheath Tumor. He is the sweetest greyhound we have ever met and astonishingly enough, this isn’t his first time recieving radiation therapy from us. Two years ago he underwent treatment for an inflammed soft tissue sarcoma and did very well. Now he boards with us for the days when he’s treated and we love having him. We look forward to seeing him progress.
Biscuit the Golden Retriever is a 1 year old extremely energetic puppy, as most are He came to us last week to have a CT Scan of his elbow for previously diagnosed elbow dysplasia. This disease is common amongst large breed dogs. He had undergone multiple stem-cell treatments and was having his elbows re-evaluated for improvement. It was sad to see this very happy and playful puppy having to be confined and sometimes even given a mild sedative just to keep from causing further damage to his joints while undergoing treatments. But in the end, it’s what’s best for him on the road to better health. We hope all goes well, and he can return soon to being the crazy, hyper Golden he was meant to be!
 You would never know his elbows hurt
We have been seeing a lot of King Charles Cavelier Spanieles recently for this problem so we wanted to provide a little education about this disease. The information is taken from The Canine Chiari Institute at Long Island Veterinary Specialist’s website.
Definition
What is chiari-like malformation (also known as COMS)?
Chiari-like malformation (CLM), formerly known as Caudal Occipital Malformation Syndrome (COMS) is a condition in which part of the brain, the cerebellum, descends out of the skull through the opening at its base, called the foramen magnum, crowding the spinal cord.
Clinical Signs
Thursday, 03 June 2010 23:41
The hallmarks of this disorder are pain and abnormal sensations like itchiness. We can usually tell if a dog is in pain with CLM/SM. An affected dog will often cry out and adopt a “nose down” position when his/her neck is hurting. Although neck pain is very common with this disorder, we have also seen a large number of dogs who exhibited back pain as well. Dogs with CLM/SM often appear to have increased sensitivity to being touched.
Treatment
Does my dog need treatment?
The answer to this question is multifactorial. The age of the dog tends to be a very important consideration in many instances. Young dogs with clinical signs should be considered for surgical treatment, while older dogs with minimal to no clinical signs could be managed medically or surgically. The severity of CLM/SM plays a role in this decision.
After Treatment
What can I expect after surgery?
Cranioplasty with FMD appears to be well tolerated in dogs with CLM/SM with very few complications being noted. Most dogs are hospitalized for 4-5 days depending on their clinical condition. Because cerebellar decompression is immediate, intracranial clinical signs can be expected to resolve faster than those related to SM. The reduction in syrinx size is paramount to clinical recovery.
Figure 1 (the picture below): Sagittal T2 weighted MRI from a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel with features of Chiari-like malformation. The small arrows point to a lesion within the spinal cord that is consistent with a fluid cavity (syringohydromyelia or SHM). The large arrowhead points to bone indenting the caudal cerebellum and displacing it out the foramen magnum. Picture courtesy of Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine
Yesterday, we performed a CT scan on a clinic cat for one of our local veterinary hospitals. Her name was Madeline, a sweet 10 year old domestic short hair. She was having difficulty breathing and the local vet found a mass in her right lung. The goal of the CT was to fully assess the the region affected by the mass and to determine the possibilityto remove it if possible. Unfortunately, the CT results showed that Madeline had a large lung tumor that had also spread to many other parts of her lungs. Given that this disease has a very poor outcome, the clinic veterinarian that assumed responsibility for Madeline decided it would be best to humanely euthanize her. She was euthanized in the hospital shortly thereafter.
We all understand that it’s important to maintain your animal’s health and well being, but it’s never a good idea to leave your home during horrible weather conditions to bring your pet in for a non emergency exam. If it’s an emergency then please do what you can to get your pet to a hospital, but if not please do not “brave the storm” to get there. It is much safer to stay home and off the road until conditions improve to take your pet in. No one will blame you for not risking harm to yourself and your pet to postpone a doctor’s visit.
Most pet owners have some valid concerns regarding the side effects of Radiation Therapy. In a nutshell, what we can tell you without going into much detail is that treatment in animals is slightly different than in humans. The side effects are cumulative, and site specific. This means that only the area being treated will show signs of a reaction, and shouldn’t affect any other part of the body. The most common reaction is loss of hair and redness of the skin. The very next question majority of owners ask is, “Will my pet’s hair grow back?” The answer is not always definite. In some cases the hair will not grow back, and in others the hair will grow back white instead of the normal color. The photos here are that of Daisy, a rottweiler who had a nasal tumor. Her hair grew back and now she looks like a tough cookie, but we all know she is a big mush
One of our staff members just found out that their dog has cancer. His name is Tyson, and he is a very loveable and rambunctious 5 year old shepard mix. He has a lump on his chest that appeared to be a small cyst or benign growth, but just to be safe, we took a small sample of it and sent it out for analysis. The results came back as highly suspicious for mesenchymal cell sarcoma. Tomorrow, Tyson will be getting a full body CAT Scan to check for cancer elsewhere, as well as surgery to remove the mass. Pending the results of the full biopsy, he may require further treatment. We can only hope that it turns out to be different, or at least very early phase cancer.
As a precaution, please have your pets get a routine physical and tell your doctor about any abnormal/new growths or lumps even if you think they are insignificant. It may save their life.
We had a 9 year old Brussels Giffon come to us today for an MRI who was having a little bit of neck pain. He was adorable!!! Brussels Griffons aren’t seen very often in veterinary facilities. That is a tribute to good breeding and good genetic history. These little guys are full of spunk and are usually very friendly and affectionate dogs. Yay for the Brussels Griffons
As of Tuesday July 19th, our Linear Accelerator (radiation machine) has been down. We have just received the official word that we will be replacing it with another machine in the very near future. Our estimate so far is that we will be operational around mid September for new radiation therapy patients. We apologize for the inconvenience to our current pet owners and hope the transition to other facilities for continued treatment goes smoothly. Thank you for your understanding in this difficult matter. We will continue to update everyone as soon as new information becomes available.
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