We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Alen Lai to the surgical team at Northside Veterinary Specialists. Alen comes to us as a senior surgical registrar, one exam away from specialist credentials, and will be the primary in-hospital surgeon for NVS. He is a highly accomplished surgeon and brings a wealth of experience and new techniques to the table, including laparoscopic speys and pexys.

Alen will be consulting most Mondays and Wednesday-Friday to complement Eugene and Ross, and will be offering early morning consults (7:30am-) on Thursdays for those clients who struggle to attend appointments during normal working hours.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out and say hello, or ring up to chat about a case or ask a question – Alen would love to hear from you!

Now available at NVS!

Wednesday, 13th November – Urban Tadka

An educational evening for Vets and practice team members fuelled by delicious Indian delights (dietary requirements catered for).
Join Drs. Elizabeth Thrift and Alen Lai as they present the latest on urinary incontinence and brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome. RSVP essential. Limited seats so book early to avoid dissapointment!

info@northsidevetspecialists.com.au

Click below for a pdf version of the slides from Dr. Anna Dengate’s presentation “The Antacid Roundup” at our recent CPD Evening

Join Us! Thursday, 26th September 2019 – Cavallino Terrey Hills

Poo: The good, the bad, and the runny.. * Chronic diarrhoea cases – how to maximise diagnostics, treatments and management prior to considering referral * An update on novel treatment ideas (eg probiotics/prebiotics, faecal microbiota transplants etc.)  Presented by Dr. Elizabeth Thrift, Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine  & The Antacid Round Up  * Proton-pump inhibitors: why, when, & what type to use!  Presented by Dr. Anna Dengate, Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine  Cavallino Corner McCarrs Creek Road & Yulong Avenue 7pm for a 7:30 start. RSVP by to info@northsidevetspecialists.com.au or 9452 2933

When do you worry about a C. perfringens positive on faecal PCR? Well… Never. PCR tests for the genetic material to produce the toxin, not the toxin itself. There is no correlation between amount of genetic material and toxin levels, so this test is a bit of a furphy. Then why do so many patients respond to diet modification and metronidazole, you say? Most infectious or inflammatory GIT processes, even transient gastroenteritis will cause some degree of dysbiosis (aka altered GIT micro biome). So feeding a quality diet, full of “prebiotics” (foods that feed “good bacteria”), and metronidazole will help to rebalance things and decrease the effects of the original injury. There is currently minimal evidence to say that probiotics benefit these dogs, though the evidence is very strong in humans – and it doesn’t do any harm! 

Maya is a vet from Brazil, who came on board initially in our nursing team. Maya’s knowledge and understanding of complex medical conditions was so exceptional, we decided to make her our intern! Maya will be working with our medicine team throughout the week to help with our client contact and written communications, and generally keep everyone happy with her quality patient care and cheeky winks. Welcome Maya! 

Recent advances in the management of incontinence have drastically improved outcomes for pets and the quality of life of their humans! Two new procedures include injection of collagen into the urethral sphincter mechanism, and the placement of an inflatable occluder around the bladder neck to improve sphincter tone. We are running a special on collagen injections for a discounted rate of $820 throughout August (normally $1580). Chat to our medicine team of Dave, Anna, Liz, or Paul to see if this would be appropriate for your patient!

Did you know that urinary incontinence can be treated by collagen injections to increase tone in the urethral sphincter? Contact our team to discuss if your female patients are candidates for this treatment.