Consultations

We offer professional consultations on a wide range of problems, for all domestic pets. Appointments are available from 8:00am to 10:30pm on weekdays and from 9am to 6:30pm on weekends. We prefer that you make an appointment as this reduces waiting times.

Most consultations take between 20 and 30 minutes and include a full physical examination of your pet as well as attention to the specific problem.

Medicine

Animals can suffer from a wide range of medical problems. We hope your pet never needs to use this service, but if they do, our vets are qualified to diagnose and treat animal medical conditions using the most modern information and methods.

If your animal appears to be suffering from a medical problem then the vet will often decide to take a blood or urine test for analysis, or perhaps schedule an x-ray or ultrasound. With some complex medical problems, the vet may offer to refer your pet to a specialist.

To read some more about your pet’s problem, we suggest you visit www.veterinarypartner.com. This site contains accurate and up-to-date information.

Vaccinations

Vaccination appointments always include a full physical examination and discussion of preventative care and any problems you may have with your animal.  The appointment usually takes 15- 20 minutes.

Dogs

We routinely vaccinate dogs against 5 major infectious diseases.  The vaccination schedule is as follows:

• 6-8 weeks C3 
• 10 weeks C5 
• 12 weeks Kennel Cough booster

Annual booster C5 or Kennel Cough only

A C5 consists of protection against:

Parvovirus: causes haemorrhagic (bloody) diarrhoea and vomiting and can be fatal, especially in young dogs.

Distemper: causes neurological and respiratory disease

Hepatitis: an infectious cause of liver disease

Adenovirus: also causes liver and respiratory disease

Bordatella: causes kennel cough which is a highly contagious cough that dogs often contract when in close contact with other dogs, for example in boarding kennels.  The disease causes signficant discomfort to dogs (and their owners) but is rarely serious or life-threatening.

Parainfluenza: a viral cause of kennel cough

Vaccination takes about one week to stimulate immunity.  If your dog was not previously vaccinated then he or she should be isolated from other dogs in this period.

Puppies:  can begin socialisation one week after the 10 week vaccination.   Struggletown uses a special vaccination which is more effective in younger dogs than the older types of vaccinations. This is because we wish to encourage early socialisation of puppies and attendance at Puppy School.

Cats

Cats are vaccinated routinely with an F3 vaccination but also optionally can be given an FIV and/or Feline Leukaemia vaccination.

The schedule is as follows:

• 6-8 weeks
• 10 weeks
• 12 weeks

Annual booster thereafter

An F3 consists of protection against the following:

Feline enteritis: a serious infection causing diarrhoea and vomiting as well as bone marrow suppression

Calicivirus:  a virus causing sneezing, ocular and nasal discharge ('cat flu') as well as occasionally causing joint swelling and pain

Herpesvirus: also causes cat flu; in addition can cause ocular and oral ulceration.   Rarely can cause a severe inflammatory skin condition

FIV: 'Feline Immunodeficiency Virus' is similar to the human immunodeficiency virus in that it causes suppression of the immune system and increased susceptibility to infections.  In cats, it usually causes few symptoms until middle age or later, when the cats start to show signs of gingivitis and skin infections.  Some cats with FIV are more likely to develop a type of cancer.  The disease is contracted primarily by fighting with other cats and is more common in roaming, male cats.  The vaccination consists of 3 injections, given 2-4 weeks apart.  Older cats should have a blood test prior to vaccination, in order to make sure they are not already carriers of the disease. 

Feline Leukaemia: this is a relatively uncommon disease in Australia.  It causes bone marrow suppression and increased incidence of a type of cancer (lymphosarcoma).  It is also contracted from fighting with other cats but more usually from the kitten's mother. 

Surgery

We perform a wide range of soft tissue and orthopaedic surgical procedures at Struggletown Veterinary Hospital.

If your animal is coming in for surgery, then it will be helpful to read this section before coming in.

Admission

We request that you bring your pet in on the day of surgery between 7am and 9am. Please ensure that they have had no food intake after 9pm the night before surgery although water should be made available. Take water away after 7am.

When you arrive, our nurses will check your details, confirm the procedure and request that you complete a surgical consent form. Please ensure that we have a contact number so that the vets can call you if necessary.

The nurses will ask if you would like the blood test or intravenous fluids (below). In young, healthy animals they are not essential and the anaesthetics given are extremely safe and closely monitored (see Anaesthetics) regardless of what you choose.

If your animal is unwell then the vet will advise you of what is needed and you will not be required to make this choice yourself.

You will be provided with a cost estimate if requested. The vet will call you if the cost will vary from this estimate by more than 10%.

Please allow about 10 minutes to admit your animal into hospital.

Pre-anaesthetic blood screening

Sometimes it is recommended that a blood test be performed prior to undergoing an anaesthetic.

Our pre-anaesthetic blood screen assesses kidney and liver enzymes, blood glucose, packed cell volume, plasma protein and electrolyte levels. This simple test provides us with a lot of information about your pet and helps to improve the safety of anaesthesia.

Pre-anaesthetic testing is strongly recommended in animals over 8 years old as they are more likely to suffer from underlying problems. Animals who are unwell for any reason should also have the test done. In young, apparently healthy animals the chances of an abnormality with this test are low, and we leave it to your choice to decide. If you are uncertain then check with the vet on duty.

Intravenous fluid therapy

Intravenous fluids help to provide oxygen and nutrients to the tissues whilst the animal is under anaesthetic and help to maintain blood pressure. Recovery time is generally shorter for animals having intravenous fluids.

During short, routine procedures, it is generally not necessary to have animals on an intravenous drip, so we do not automatically include this. In some cases, it will be considered essential for the safety of the anaesthetic, and the vets will advise you of this.

For routine procedures we leave this as a choice for you to make. If you are uncertain then please discuss with the vet beforehand.

Discharge from Hospital

We request that you call the surgery at about 3pm to check on your animal. The nurse will advise you of your animal’s progress and book a time for you to collect them. This is usually after 5pm, although we are open late so it is possible to collect your animal at a time up to 11pm if required.

Most animals go home the same day of surgery. Some need to stay overnight and this can be discussed with the vet.

You will be given an appointment time to see one of the vets or a nurse and to discuss the care of any wounds, sutures or bandages, as well as when to return to have these changed or removed.

Payment must be made at the time of discharge from hospital. We accept all major credit cards, eftpos and cash.

Dentistry

Animals need dental care just as we do. If your animal suffers from any of these symptoms then it may need to be checked for dental disease:

• Halitosis (bad breath)
• Chewing on one side only
• Loss of ability to chew hard foods
• Difficulty picking up or chewing foods

Many animals, as they advance in age, develop a layer of plaque on their teeth. This hardens in combination with minerals present in saliva to become a solid layer over the tooth called calculus or tartar. Bacteria are present in both plaque and tartar and they produce enzymes, which lead to inflammation of the surrounding gums – gingivitis.

With time, this problem can lead to infection around the ligament that holds the tooth in place. This condition, periodontitis, can eventually lead to loss of support for the tooth and loose teeth or tooth loss.

Although this scenario sounds rather drastic, periodontal disease affects more than half of pets over the age of 4 years, making it one of the most common problems we encounter.

In order to prevent or at least to slow this course we advise the following:

• Avoid soft, canned diets as these foods stick between the teeth and allow bacteria to grow
• Try to buy a good quality, premium dry food that makes reference to oral hygiene. These foods have a larger kibble that need to be chewed.
• Encourage chewing. The best method for keeping your pets teeth clean is to regularly feed them raw, meaty bones, for example chicken necks or brisket bone. Dogs’ and cats’ teeth are designed to chew through bone and muscle and this chewing activity helps to sweep the plaque off the teeth.
• Always start gradually when introducing bones into the diet and remember that all bones must to RAW. For small puppies and kittens raw chicken necks are a good start, then once they are larger, try chicken wings. Large dogs can be given brisket bones.

We can scale and polish teeth that are affected by plaque or tartar. A manual scaler is used to remove large pieces of tartar as well as plaque above the gum line, then an ultrasonic dental scaler removes small tartar deposits.

The teeth are polished after scaling. Polishing creates a smooth tooth surface to which plaque cannot adhere.

Regular scaling can prevent periodontal disease and tooth loss. However, sometimes teeth are already badly affected and may be loose or have the sensitive, internal tissues exposed. These teeth may need to be extracted.

Cats suffer from very painful lesions of the teeth known as odontoclastic or resorptive lesions. These small holes develop in the enamel at the gum line and cause pain when eating. These teeth need to be removed. Cats can eat normally after the loss of some teeth.

Laboratory Services

Struggletown Vets has a fully equipped laboratory upstairs from the clinic, with a full time laboratory technician. The lab can perform blood, urine and faecal tests.

The results are usually available within a few hours, meaning our vets can start the appropriate treatment very quickly, without having to wait for results from an external laboratory.

Some tests, for instance biopsies and bacterial cultures, need to be sent to an external laboratory. The results from biopsies take about three working days. Cultures take about one week.

Specialist Referral

Just as in human medicine, there is a range of specialists available to treat animals.

The vets may suggest referral to a specialist if your animal has a complex, more serious or unusual problem.

Specialists are available in the fields of:

• Medicine
• Surgery
• Dermatology
• Neurology
• Feline Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Dentistry
• Oncology
• Cardiology

There are several centres for specialists in Sydney. We will sometimes refer animals to a particular specialist, or to the centre that is most convenient for you. These are the centres available in the Sydney Metropolitan area:

Animal Referral Hospital
444 Liverpool Rd (Hume Hwy)
Strathfield NSW 2136
02 9758 8666
www.arhvets.com

University of Sydney Veterinary Teaching Hospital
65 Parramatta Road,
Camperdown NSW 2050
02 9351 3437
www.vetsci.usyd.edu.au/sydneyclinic/ourclinic.shtml

North Shore Veterinary Specialist Centre
64 Atchison St
Crows Nest NSW 2065
02 9436 488

Veterinary Specialist Centre
14-20 Delhi Road
North Ryde NSW 2113
02 9888 9800
www.vetspecialist.com.au

Northern Sydney Veterinary Specialist Centre
290 Bobbin Head Rd
North Turramurra 2074
02 9449 3820

Anaesthesia

If you would like to learn a little more about what we do behind the scenes, and what is involved when your animal comes in for surgery then please browse this section.

Anaesthesia can be divided into the following phases:

Induction phase

This is where we give an intravenous anaesthetic drug, which rapidly makes the patient unconscious. It allows us to be able to pass a tube into the airway to deliver the anaesthetic gases, which will keep the patient anaesthetised during the procedure.

First, we place a catheter into the cephalic vein (on the top of the front leg). To place the catheter the fur must first be shaved over the top of the vein. A catheter is a thin, soft tube about 1 inch long with an injection port to allow delivery of drugs. This is taped to the leg and stays in place during and after anaesthetic and allows us to give intravenous fluids and drugs such as pain relief or intravenous antibiotics.

The induction agent is given into the vein “to effect”, that is; the correct dose for the body weight of the animal is calculated but then only the amount that is necessary for each individual patient is given.

A tube (endotracheal tube) of the appropriate size is then passed into the animal’s trachea. In cats, the larynx is first sprayed with local anaesthetic, as cats are prone to spasm of the larynx. This is not a problem for dogs.

The endotracheal tube is then tied into place with string up and over the animal’s nose. The tube has a soft, inflatable cuff on it to create a snug fit in the trachea. This is inflated with a small amount (1-2ml) of air.

Maintenance Phase

The patient is then attached to the gas anaesthetic system. This system provides oxygen and anaesthetic gas to the patient to keep them anaesthetised at the correct depth for the procedure.

All anaesthetised animals are kept warm by a thermostatically controlled heating mat. They are positioned on the anaesthetic table on a moulded cradle. They have ointment placed in their eyes to stop the corneas becoming dry.

Monitoring anaesthetic is a complex task. It is best achieved by constant monitoring by a qualified veterinary nurse or vet, with assistance from anaesthetic monitoring equipment. Every animal has an anaesthetic record filled out.

During the procedure, the patient is monitored to keep them at the right depth of anaesthetic – that is, if too lightly anaesthetised then the patient might have some reflex movements when surgery is being performed and if too deep then the heart or breathing rates may decrease.

The following variables contribute to our assessment of anaesthetic depth and are each measured and recorded every five minutes during the procedure: heart rate, respiratory rate, body temperature, tissue oxygen saturation and expired air carbon dioxide concentration. Critical patients also have their blood pressure and electrocardiograph (ECG) measured whilst under anaesthetic.

Some variables are measured manually by oesophageal stethoscope (a tube placed into the oesophagus to rest near to the heart and connected to the earpieces of a stethoscope) and checked against those values measured by the machines. Other values are measured by monitoring equipment – pulse oximeter or Doppler.

The pulse oximeter/capnograph has a small clip that is attached to the patient’s tongue. This measures the oxygen saturation of blood at the tissue level and should always be maintained at greater than 95%. This machine also checks the pulse rate, the respiratory rate and the level of carbon dioxide in the expired gases.

The Doppler blood pressure gauge measures the systolic (maximum) blood pressure that occurs as the heart contracts. This must be maintained to ensure a healthy supply of oxygen and nutrients to the tissues during anaesthesia.

Recovery Phase

Once the procedure is nearing completion, the anaesthetic gas level will be slowly decreased, over about 5 minutes, to allow the animal to gradually regain consciousness.

The animal will be given extra pain relief if it is necessary, to help facilitate a smooth recovery.

Once the gas is turned off, the animals are left to breath 100% oxygen for about 5 minutes, then they are allowed to breath regular room air again. Once they show signs of regaining awareness then the endotracheal tube is removed and the animal is placed into a recovery cage. This is lined with a padded blanket and they are kept warm with hot water bottles or a heating mat.

Most animals regain consciousness within 10 minutes of stopping the anaesthetic, can sit up within about 1 hour and are able to walk within 2 or 3 hours. This varies a lot depending on the procedure and the time spent under anaesthetic. They normally need to rest in hospital for at least 6 hours after an anaesthetic.