02 October 2011

Case 1

Dog with a pair of eyes with a greenish blue tinge was brought in with a complaint of swollen right paw. Upon closer inspection of the right paw, the vet found that phalanx 3 of both digit 4 and 5 felt swollen. It was suspected that it is due to a sprain of the ligaments. Looking at the teeth, there are signs of periodontal disease which is of at stage 4.

How does periodontal disease develop? I have researched online and found a very informative passage (http://www.peteducation.com).
“Food particles and bacteria collect along the gumline forming plaque. If plaque is not removed, minerals in the saliva combine with the plaque and form tartar (or calculus) which adheres strongly to the teeth. Plaque starts to mineralize 3-5 days after it forms. The tartar is irritating to the gums and causes an inflammation called gingivitis. This can be seen as reddening of the gums adjacent to the teeth. It also causes bad breath.
If the calculus is not removed, it builds up under the gums. It separates the gums from the teeth to form "pockets" and encourages even more bacterial growth. At this point the damage is irreversible, and called "periodontal" disease. It can be very painful and can lead to loose teeth, abscesses, and bone loss or infection.”

	Grade	Plaque and Calculus	Gum Health	Radiologic Changes	Prognosis
Early Gingivitis	Grade I	Mild amount of plaque	Mild redness	No change	Reversible
Advanced Gingivitis	Grade II	Subgingival* plaque	Redness and edema	Little change	Reversible
Early Periodontitis	Grade III	Subgingival* calculus	Redness, edema, gums bleed with gentle probing, gum recession or hyperplasia	Subgingival calculus, 10-30% loss of bone support	Irreversible
Established Periodontitis	Grade IV	Larger amounts of subgingival calculus	Severe inflammation, gum recession, loose teeth and/or missing teeth, pus, gums bleed easily, deep pockets	Over 30% bone loss	Irreversible

Case 2

Looks like generalized ring worm throughout the body of a 7 years old dog, which started 3 weeks ago. Suspected auto-immune disease but was not able to take a closer look as client is only willing to be consult by his preferred vet.

Case 3

Shih tzu was suspected to have recurring scabies, this time round it occurred in the ears.



Scabies in ear

“Scabies is a skin disorder caused by infection with scabies mites (sarcoptes scabei). Those microscopic mites burrow in the dogs skin surface, storing their eggs in a trail behind them. The tunnels are visible as thin, scaly lines at the dogs’ skin. The itchy scalp and skin rashes of scabies occur because an allergy to the scabies mite. Scabies is one of the most itching skin disorders in dogs.”

[Reference: http://www.doggiesparadise.com/itching.shtml]

There are obvious ring worm infection on the hind legs and left cornea central ulceration too.



Cornea ulceration as recognized as a whitish patch in the centre of the cornea

Admin work completed:

1)     Made electronic copies of bank statements for months from January-September 2011 for Toa Payoh Vets

2)     Made electronic copies of both vet’s consultation and salary from January-September 2011

3)     Updated the client’s database

4)     Helped vet nurse with the tabulation of vet’s consultation for the month of September

Working hours:

9.45am- 5.30pm