Exciting Developments in Veterinary Medicine

| Print | By | December 1, 2008 10:39 AM

During my lifetime, the art of human medical and surgical procedures have taken incredible leaps and bounds in healing conditions that just a few years ago may have been considered impossible. What blows me away is how these procedures have been adopted in the field of Veterinary medicine, which will allow our pets with serious medical issues to be treated.

While many of these surgical protocols are still in its infancy, a few forward thinking veterinary surgeons are becoming pioneers in the field, taking on individual cases which more traditional practitioners have refused, by using techniques which were once performed only in human medicine.

The other day, I was fascinated reading about two incredible procedures performed by a veterinarian in Australia, which was published by The Herald Sun, Victoria, National and Australian News.

One such person is Dr. Chris Preston, a Veterinary surgeon practicing in Melbourne, well known for taking on cases which are considered risky, using techniques which were reserved for human surgery. He has performed a bone marrow transplant on his own personal pet, Bailey, a terminally ill Bernese Mountain dog suffering from Lymphoma, a common form of Cancer. Bailey is the first dog in Australia to undergo this procedure.

With the help of Dr Angela Frimberger, a world famous animal oncologist brought in to assist in Bailey's treatment. Dr. Frimberger removed 400 ml of Bailey's bone marrow, and after two weeks of chemotherapy, the marrow will be returned to his body.

While neither Drs Preston nor Frimberger are positive that this untried procedure will save Bailey's life, they both are committed to prolong Bailey's life without side effects. If the transplant is successful, however, many new doors will be opened with which other animals may be treated.

Dr Preston has also undertaken the challenge to treat Kramer, an injured three-legged Australian Kelpie dog, making him the first canine to be fitted with a custom designed metal frame permitting his damaged muscles to heal.

28-Three legged Kelpie Kramer Alex Coppel.jpg
Credit: Three legged Kelpie Kramer by Alex Coppel

With the state of the art veterinary medical procedures growing so quickly, it seems to me that what was considered unique and novel may someday become fairly commonplace and within the financial reach of pet owners around the world. Hopefully veterinary health insurance will help defray some of the high cost of these treatments which will be able to add years of high quality life to our sick and injured pets.

What are your thoughts about these new techniques which are developing in the field of Veterinary medicine? Leave a comment with your opinions.

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Comments (7)

lj December 2, 2008 8:18 AM

This is truly fabulous to read about! Good on ya Mate! Wish all Vets had the foresight to believe medicine for pets is just as important to some owners as any other family members would be of the human kind. Thanks for bringin' this story to my inbox, I needed this Jo.

Smile,...it'll give your face something to do!
lj (jock4hire)

Vicki December 2, 2008 9:03 AM

It is nice to know that veterinary medicine is making progress in their treatment of animals. New methods of treatment will help us save even more of our furry friends.

Stella Gaylor December 2, 2008 10:15 AM

I am amazed at what they have done.  They have come a long way with treatment for cancer, that bone marrow example is one.  It is known that cats can  tolerate Chemo better than humans but the treatments are so expensive that the common pet owner can't afford them and especially with today's financial situation.  

What I want to see is more research on mapping the genes of a cat.  There has been progress but not enough, also research on FIP, the cats auto immune system and others.  The research on Hypertropic Cardiomyopathy is on-going but funds do run out and mapping the genes for that is not an easy job. 

http://rpcathousemainecoons.com/

Joanne December 2, 2008 10:51 AM

I am very excited about some of the developments in veterinary medicine. Some things like bone marrow transplats are for me a little too traumatic to undertake on creatures who have limited understanding at best about what is happening to them and why.
Along with these advances comes increasing expense as we know first hand. There should be some kind of decent pet insurance available to pet guardians to they can afford some of these cutting edge advances

Carol Goering December 2, 2008 2:28 PM

I am amazed constantly at how a few forward thinking people can make such a difference. I am so glad that there are Veterinary doctors out there like the ones you've written about. Someday our beloved dogs will not be lost due to treatable conditions like Lymphoma.

Amy December 2, 2008 3:03 PM

That is amazing to read. I can see further use of human treatments in animals coming down the road. It is going to be difficult job of adapting things to the animal species. Of course there is alot to learn in this field but I expect more promising news to be forth coming that will give hope to pet owners.

Jo Singer December 4, 2008 11:46 AM

In reading some of the comments about this promising treatment which is becoming more available in the United States, I found an article about pet insurance possibly covering the cost of this procedure.

http://urbanpetsdogblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/pet-insurance.html

Just wanted to share this information with our readers.

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