Traci- Davet? Any help here?

[Susan and the girls]

Oh, MA, this is just terrible!

Please give my sincerest condolences to Khai's owner. This just breaks my heart.....

[bridget]

MA...please forward to Lyn my condolences on her loss of Khai. I hope they will be able to get to the bottom of this.

I'm sending prayers for Khai's journey to the Bridge, and for answers and closure for Khai's meowmie. I'm so sorry this happened......

(((HUGS))) and tears,

[Lyn Bailey]

Hi, am sorry but I really did not pick up on this cross link, I was totally new to this site, and 'in my fog' did not really understand and only just stumbled across as I did not recognise the title when Hissy first said about the cross posting. So apologies for not posting directly here. Thank you for the replies and sincere messages, let me try to explain regarding some of the previous comments. My original vet (A) said that Khai needed some dental work, as I had noticed that he seemed to be having difficulty eating dried food and seemed very miserable, so he was admitted for treatment and later in the day, I picked him up, or what appeared to be my usually lovable docile cat. To say that he was in a panic was an understatement, and I had to take him home in the vets cage as he was so distressed. (You have to bear in mind that my 2 oriental breeds tend to stay in the house, do not mix with other cats and are very home orientated). He'd had 3 extractions, and obviously his mouth was a bit of a mess, but fair enough. Two days later, I was not at all happy as Khai still seemed unsteady so I took him back, and although A said that his gums looked ok, gave a painkilling injection, admitted that he thought that Khai had a massive reaction to the anaesthetic (saffan) and told me to continue with the Stomorgyl antibiotic until another check up on Saturday - when A said that the gums looked as though they had recovered fine, to start back on some dried food etc, and from then on Khai seemed to be recovering ok. However around a week later, I noticed that he again seemed to be not eating very well, checked his mouth and his upper gum seemed sore....so I took him to see A again, and they confirmed that his existing lower canine seemed to be puncturing the upper gum, they wanted to take this out and I said no, I would only give him soft food and see if it would heal. So a few days after it did start to heal, and I thought we were on the road to recovery, Khai perked up and seemed much happier, and became his usual naughty boy self, almost. But that then led me to the situation when I originally posted, he started to constantly circle especially in the evenings, and sometimes for hours, seemed very hesitant to jump, and I took him to another vet for a second opinion (B), who watched and observed, and said that it was a vision problem, and in his opinion Khai seemed to have lost his sight. Although I am adamant that at the point of the circling, he had got vision if only slightly. So at that point of realisation of this impending blindness, I thought, well this is not a huge problem and I can handle this, Khai knew the house very well, and we would have to make some amendments but no big deal at all. But in a very short space of time, there was a massive decline. Within about 20 hours, his vision had totally gone, his legs could not hold him up, and he wanted to crawl into a very small dark space in the basement. I picked him up and ran to the car to take him to see vet B, and Khai was suddenly very sick, mainly bile, but still quite alert, and recognising my voice and reassurance. The vet was stunned at the change, and could see that Khai could not use his legs, and his third eye had come up completely. He offered to put him on an iv drip, and inject a steroid, to see if there was any change in say 24 hours, or gave me the option to do the inevitable (which at that point, I was really in the most awful shock). I gave him to B, and at that point of handing over, Khai launched for me claws and all, as if to say 'please no', or as if he knew it was goodbye, and my arm was really bleeding, but he most certainly still recognised my voice (believe me this was agonising). Around 4 hours later, Khai was very settled as such, and it was just as though he was sleeping, but still breathing, another 4 hours or so later still the same, but then it became fairly apparent that Khai had slipped into a coma and soon after he died. The nect day, after much discussion, B and an associate figured that there had been a pulmonary embolism (causing the blindness) which could probably be proven if we wanted a post mortem, and offered the opinion that the damage was done at the point of the dental op, but took its time to develop. (Obviously I could go on for pages but am aware of the length of this, just wanted to clarify a few matters). Of course I am full of questions, and anger. For instance, vet A, who was requested to fax the op notes to vet B after the initial visit, refused saying that the computer records where their property, and I had to get in touch with a veterianary council citing 'supercession' and order them to, and then they were typed up as such, not the original computer print. And why did Khai pick up so? The soul searching - was there anything at all I could have picked up on sooner, instead of just hunches etc, I did take him back 3 times remember, after the intial dental op, before the 2nd opinion, I am full of woe/guilt/deep emotion, and I miss him so badly, as he was my home buddy for almost 10 long and gorgeous years, owed me nothing, but I wanted more time with him. I have his (litter) sister to look after, who is pining away, being caressed and cherished as much as we can, and one day we know that we will not cry any more....maybe... but the anger remains...once more I really want to say what a wonderful site this is, yes I know I am over in New Zealand, but I will continue to view it, as are all of my friends over here, and thank you for your replies, advice and lovely comments. Any further comments would be most welcomed...

[Traci]

Lyn,

I'm not sure I can answer the questions, but I'll sure try. First, it is possible that an embolism occured. I do wonder if a pre-anesthetic test was done, or if Khai ever had a suspect heart condition or ever had an ECG done prior to the dental, (or at any time previously, for any other reason). An ECG would have been alittle helpful to determine candidacy for anesthesia. If there had been any abnormalities on the ECG, the first vet would have opted to wait on the dental. In a 10 year old cat, you should have been given that option before you signed the surgical waiver for the dental.

Next, if it was an embolism or saddle thrombus, ultimately, there was nothing you could have done differently. These are the most unpredictable conditions, some will subside, others become fatal in a matter of a short time. Most are usually detected by clear symptoms of distress (such as crying out, seeking to hide, seeking cold areas, kitty's rear extremeties are cold, pain is evident in every case). When you mention circling, this is not usually an indicator of an embolism, but it depends on the location of the actual embolism or blood clot.

I wonder if this was a combination of a reaction to the saffan, and an embolism that was not detected. You didn't say if you opted for a necropsy, but I can certainly understand if you declined.

As for Khai's reaching out to you at the hospital, this could have been a reaction to pain during handling. Saddle thrombus patients must be handled extremely carefully so as not to cause additional pain and stress (it also would have been virtually impossible to perform x-rays or additional diagnostics until he was stabized, it is too risky in such situations). Of course, there might have been an emotional issue involved, as you saw it to be, but I think clinically, it was a symptom. Unfortunately, the embolism wasn't suspected at that time. Even so, your second vet could only have tried to stabilize him, it might not have been a guarantee.

As for the first vet and his handling of the records, there is really something amiss there. A vet who refuses to consult with another vet who is currently handling your case, without logical or due reason, is not a vet you want to be dealing with. There are only one or two reasons I can credit that kind of behavior, one would only be a veterinary-client payment issue (cases such as those are tricky, the vet may not feel obligated to release records, but it should be based on the health and welfare of the pet regardless). Another reason could be that he knows his records were not true or were falsified, i.e, he failed to report an incident like the anesthesia reaction, or anything else of suspicious nature, hence the receptionist typing the records rather than photocopying the true original. A practice like that is abominable and I would definately question it. Another problem here is that this vet took his sweet time to argue the situation before releasing records, when he probably knew that your current vet needed them ASAP.

I know that you are beyond emotion right now, I know the feelings you are dealing with. But, I must encourage you not to place blame upon yourself. You could not have known what to surmise, you could not have known what to expect. Your first vet failed you, and your second vet tried to get to the bottom of the situation, unfortunately, the condition had progressed beyond treatment. I know that you are thinking all of the what-if's, but you must never second-guess yourself, because ultimately, it was you who took the initiatives, and were alert to the problems, in order to best care for Khai. Khai knew you were concerned and he knew you did your very best. Sometimes we are unable to control the situation, it is not for lack of love or committment, you definately had both.

I hope that you can find closure to your sorrow. I understand completely and my heart just breaks for you. He is safe now, amoung many friends who've gone on before him, and it is your memories that will keep him with you forever.

(((HUGS)))