Southern View: June 18, 2020

6
Thursday June 18 2020
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
SOUTHERN VIEW
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
A few SPECIALISED services
you may not know about…
1. CHEMOTHERAPY
The past 12 months has seen our Practice treat many
cancer patients with Chemotherapy. We have an
experienced, dedicated team of vets and nurses who
really connect with these patients and their owners.
We see referrals from other Practices and we can
offer sound advice, deliverance of care and ongoing
support for these patients. We often seek the advice
from specialists when formulating the appropriate
plans and drugs to be used.
surgical workload and have purchased the necessary
specialised equipment so that spinal, orthopaedic,
soft tissue, and thoracic surgery can proceed without
a hitch. We also can organise patients to have CT/
MRI scans, prior to surgery, through Pacific Radiology
if necessary. Spinal ( CSF) taps are also carried out if
deemed necessary for spinal/intracranial patients.
Your vet needs to refer your pet to Helen for her expert
opinion and surgical expertise.
3. ENDOSCOPY
This is a great, non invasive service which allows
us vets to have a good look down airways into the
lungs (can even go up nostrils) and down or up the
gastrointestinal tract. We have just purchased a smaller
scope to visualise the urinary system in dogs and can
get into smaller airways.
Traffic congestion on the Colombo St railway bridge at the intersection with
Moorhouse Ave, Sydenham in 1961.
Kirsty and Mauger sharing the love, after
Mauger was in for chemotherapy to treat
his Mast Cell Tumour.
Chemotherapy in pets is not as aggressive as in
humans, therefore the side effects are less. We aim for
“Quality of Life” versus squeezing every minute out
of living. We do aim for “complete clinical remission”
though. Most tumours are removed initially or
debulked and then chemo is used to reduce the risk of
spread of cancer to other sites. We do not have access
to radiation therapy in Christchurch.
Side effects ( nausea, vomiting, lethargy, fever,
diarrhoea, anorexia) can occur, but are not as severe
as in humans as doses given are lower. We manage
these with medications or reducing the next chemo
drug dosage.
Pets can still enjoy their normal foods and exercise
whilst on chemotherapy. There are a few exceptions
though. If your pet’s White Blood cell count gets
too low, then avoid high density dog areas so
disease transmission is low. Raw food diets are not
advised during chemotherapy due to an increased
risk of infection if the pet’s immune system comes
compromised. It is thought a premium diet, higher in
protein and fat/lower in carbohydrate are preferred
and fish oil has been talked about.
Pets DON’T lose hair like humans. After surgical clipping,
hair regrowth can be slow but it will grow back.
There is no risk to the owner of a pet receiving
chemotherapy, although pregnant women should not
handle any chemotherapy medications that are to be
given at home.
Our Vet Kirsty does the lion share of Chemotherapy in
the Practice. She has a dedicated, experienced nursing
team and these patients are all typically scheduled
on one day. Blood work is initially done to check they
are fit and healthy for their chemo drugs, then they
are injected slowly via an IV line or given orally. No
sedation drugs are usually required. It is quick, easy
and painless for your pet. Kirsty is really passionate
about helping your pet seek cancer remission whilst
enjoying a full, great quality of life. She is with you
every step of the way, answering your questions,
especially when big decisions need to be made.
2. SURGICAL REFERRALS
We are now able to offer a surgical referral service
thanks to Dr Helen Milner (a registered specialist in
Small Animal Surgery)
coming on board
recently. Helen sees
referral patients from
all over the South
Island where they are
typically booked for a
1 hours consultation,
with surgery then
scheduled if required.
We have built a
dedicated sterile
surgery and theatre
area to cope with this
Dr Helen Milner,
our surgical
specialist.
Open 7 days
Cnr Hoon Hay & Coppell place
phone 338 2534, Fax 339 8624
e. mcmasterandheap@yahoo.co.nz
www.mcmasterheap.co.nz
Catherine and Kirsty seen here manoevering
the endoscope to retrieve the scrunches from
Floyd’s stomach.
The patient is required to be under anaesthetic but
the procedure is fast and often effective at getting
a diagnosis, biopsying tissue or retrieving “foreign
bodies” which is most
fun. Recently “Floyd”, a 4
month old Labradoodle
was endoscoped late
one afternoon for
eating “scrunchie” hair
ties, with 6 ended up
being retrieved via
the endoscope. Very
satisfying, quick and less
expensive compared to The retrieved scrunchie
exploratory surgery.
4. RESTORATIVE DENTISTRY
Our new vet “ Terryne Loney” is an expert in the field
of dentistry, so coupled with vet Olivia who enjoys all
things in the teeth and gum department, we are able
to handle most dental problems and emergencies.
Our state of the
art dental suite
is fully equipped
with 2 dental
stations, allowing
scaling, polishing
and extractions
to be performed
on 2 patients at
the same time.
Digital dental
radiographs are
very important Terryne, our new vet.
when deciding
what teeth need extracting, checking for cancers and
root infections and congenital tooth abnormalities.
We now have the veterinary skills and equipment to
perform restorative dental care including root canal
surgery and offering alternatives to extraction in teeth
that are important to retain.
For any further information on the above services
please don’t hesitate to call or message us.
Dr Michele McMaster
McMaster & Heap
Snow on Colombo St, Sydenham in 1989, looking south from the overbridge.
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