Foot in Mouth Disease

Submitted by Joyce Hong, Virginia-Maryland CVM

Case Report

Submitted by Paulina Bravo Romo, Virginia-Maryland CVM

Signalment: 

• Feline, FS, 14-year-old, Domestic Long Hair

History:

• Owners lost her around 2 weeks before presentation at the hospital. 

• Owners noticed a wound on her abdomen

• She has a history of low thyroid levels according to owner

• Eating, drinking, urinating, and defecating well (before the two-week period)

Physical Exam: 

HYDRATION: mm: pink/moist, CRT: 1-2s, euhydrated

EENT: Eyes: no ocular discharge OU, menace/palpebral intact OU, clear AC/lens; Ears: no debris, erythema or malodor; Nares: no nasal discharge or depigmentation

ORAL: Dental disease, no missing teeth, no oral lesions or foreign material seen

PLNs: within normal limits

CV: normal sinus rhythm, no murmur able to be ausculted, pulses strong/synchronous

PULM: eupneic, clear bronchovesicular sounds, no crackles/wheezes/stertor/stridor

ABD: soft, non-painful during palpation

UG: no preputial discharge, no vulvar discharge

MSI: BCS 5/9, MCS 3/3, ambulatory x 4 with no overt lameness, open right abdominal mass 5 cm x 8 cm x 3 cm infested with maggots

NEURO: BAR, mentally appropriate, CNs and CPs intact, no ataxia seen, no pain on spinal palpation or cervical flexion

Plan: 

• Radiographs: Check for metastasis of mass and check for any trauma in the abdomen and thoracic cavity

  • There was no metastasis in the lungs 

  • No trauma was observed in the abdomen or thoracic cavity

• Sedation, clean and surgery removal 

• Send mass for biopsy

Diagnosis: 

• Biopsy report:

  • Mammary adenocarcinoma Grade 3

A Special MLK Day Event

A Special MLK Day Event: The North American Veterinary Community Partners with Veterinary Industry Leader in DEI to Inspire and Support Future Veterinarians

New Initiative Launches with Diversity-Focused Event on MLK Jr. Day, Jan. 16, 2023, for Orlando-Area Youth

What:  Central Florida middle school students will put on scrubs and spend the day in a new immersive, hands-on educational learning program about the role of and what it takes to become a veterinary professional. They will learn from leading minority veterinarians from around the country at the 40th annual Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX), hosted by the North American Veterinary Community (NAVC). The NAVC and the nationally-recognized  BLENDVet program are committed to creating more diversity within the veterinary industry by opening doors for underserved youth to pursue veterinary careers. This program is designed to inspire and enable young people from underrepresented communities to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Only 6.7% of veterinarians are people of color and as few as 1.2% are Black.

• Students will have hands-on experience using workshop stations to learn about veterinary surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine and preventive care.
• Great visuals include: students in scrubs practicing intubation in the ER station using a model dog, conducting exams of eyes, ears and heart using a stethoscope. They will also look at slides under a microscope, work with skeletons and observe veterinarians performing physical exam practices on two live dogs.
• A special program will be concurrently offered for parents and guardians to learn about the commitment required and how to support their child in pursuing a veterinary career.

Who:   Interviews will be available with NAVC executives, BLENDVet leadership, and BLENDVet presenters, including:

• Niccole Bruno, DVM, CEO and Founder of BLENDVet
• Genine Ervin-Smith, DVM, MPH, Chief Operating Officer, BLENDVet
• Harold Davis, NAVC Board President, BA, RVT, VTS (Emergency & Critical Care) (Anesthesia & Analgesia)
• Dana Varble, DVM, CAE, NAVC Chief Veterinary Officer
• Joya Cummings, DVM, DACVD
• Courtney Campbell, DVM DACVS-SA
• Valerie Marcano, DVM, PhD, DACPV
• Stephanie Jones, DVM, CEO/Founder Pets Help The Heart Heal
• Rhesa Houston, DVM, CEO & Founder of Assistance Animals Consulting
• Walter Brown, BS RVTg VTS (ECC)
• Nia Powell, 3rd year vet student

When:             Monday, Jan. 16, 2023

STUDENT PROGRAM

Registration: 8:30-9:00 am ET

Introduction: 9:00 am ET

Life as A Vet Student (Q&A): 9:15 am ET

Exploring the Pathways in Veterinary Medicine: 10:00-11:00 am ET

• Opportunities for interviews in this time window.

Workshop: A Day in the Life of Veterinary Professional: 11:00 am-1:00 pm ET

• Surgery Station: Courtney Campbell, DVM DACVS
• Dermatology Station: Joya Griffin, DVM DACVD
• Emergency Medicine Station: Walter Brown, BS RVTg ECC & Adesola Odunayo DVM, MS, DACVECC
• General Medicine: Stephanie Jones, DVM & Rhesa Houston, DVM

Networking Lunch: 1:00-2:00 pm ET

• Opportunities for interviews in this time window.

What Can I Do Next?: 2:00-3:00 pm ET

Closing Ceremony/Ice Cream Social: 3:00-4:00 pm ET

• Opportunities for interviews in this time window.

About the NAVC

The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing veterinary professionals worldwide. The world’s leading provider of veterinary continuing education, the NAVC delivers essential training, tools and resources for veterinary professionals to stay abreast of advances in animal medicine and provide the best medical care for animals everywhere. Through its commitment to innovation and excellence, the NAVC has developed a diverse portfolio of products and services, including educational events, headlined by VMX, the world’s largest, most comprehensive continuing education conference and launchpad for new products and innovations within the veterinary industry; a robust digital platform for virtual learning and engagement; the veterinary industry’s largest and award-winning portfolio of trade publications; and an advocacy arm which unites the veterinary community and pet lovers. The NAVC was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL. Since 2017, the NAVC has been recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Orlando Sentinel. To learn more about NAVC's products and brands, visit https://navc.com. To see our schedule of upcoming events, visit https://navc.com/calendar/.

About BLENDVet

BLENDVet is owned and backed by a diverse group of leaders in veterinary medicine. BLENDVet offers a veterinary hospital certification program designed to train veterinary teams in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB), and is the first of its kind to create an inclusive workplace culture geared toward fostering environments of belonging for teams and clients.

Media Relations Contacts:

Robin Pence

rpence@navc.com

M: +1.352.317.8651

Macayla Bricarell

mbricarell@navc.com

M: +1.321.270.1353

Creative Corner

Submitted by Nadine Veitnere, Western University

A couple years ago I created a short film called Elephant Daydreams with an origami elephant as the main character. You may find it linked below.

Link to my short film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUoeb1n5LoA&ab_channel=NadineVeitnere

VMX 2023 Highlights

MEDIA CONTACTS: Robin Pence | rpence@navc.com | M: +1.352.317.8651 

                                  Macayla Bricarell | mbricarell@navc.com | M: +1.321.270.1353

VETERINARY LEADERS TO SHARE BREAKTHROUGHS ACROSS THE BOARD  FOR MORE EFFECTIVE CANCER TREATMENT, NON-INVASIVE DIAGNOSTICS, UNDERSTANDING FELINE PAIN AND SURGERY ON THE SMALLEST PATIENTS The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) Announces World-Renowned Veterinary Presenters and Sessions at the 40th Annual Veterinary Meeting & Expo (VMX)

ORLANDO, Fla. – DECEMBER 20, 2022 – From breast cancer surgery on a tiny hedgehog to advanced non-invasive ways to detect cancer, perform heart surgery and measure pain, the veterinary industry continues to provide new, less painful and more successful options to help animals live longer, better quality lives. This comes as good news to pet owners who see and treat their pets as family and increasingly seek the best healthcare possible for them.

To learn and stay abreast of the latest advances in animal medicine, veterinary professionals from more than 65 countries will attend the 40th annual VMX in Orlando, Fla., January 14 to 18, 2023, at the Orange County Convention Center. At the world’s largest and most comprehensive veterinary conference, they will learn the latest diagnoses, surgical procedures, pharmaceutical breakthroughs and more for nearly every animal, from the tiniest birds and fish to kangaroos, horses and, of course, cats and dogs.

Key topics and presenters available for interviews include:

Note: See the VMX 2023 Full Program for session dates and times.

Dr. Mike Petty, DVM, MAV, CCRT, CVPP

Member of the Global Pain Council of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association, Canton, Mich.

“A New, Non-Invasive way for Early Cancer Detection”

More than one million lumps and bumps are found on animals every year, but very few are given a diagnosis and many progress into malignant cancers. Early detection is key, and Dr. Petty will present a breakthrough diagnostic tool, the HT Vista, introduced to the U.S. market in October 2022, that helps veterinarians identify malignant cancer early, without invasive biopsies, significantly improving the survival rate for many patients. This new, patented medical imaging technology uses non-invasive Heat Diffusion Imaging (HDI) that heats the skin just a few degrees and an AI-based algorithm that recognizes cancerous cells by their unique dynamic heat-flow properties, with 97% accuracy. This new diagnostic method provides a safe, reliable and painless method to detect cancer in the skin or subcutaneous tissue so pet owners can get a first opinion quickly and easily.

Dr. Mike Petty tests for cancer with the new non-invasive, patented HT Vista device that uses heat to detect the presence of cancer cells.

Kristen Cooley, BA, CVT, VTS (Anesthesia & Analgesia), VCCSupport & Training, PEAK Veterinary Anesthesia Services, Madison, Wis.

“How They Tell us When They Hurt; Recognizing Pain in Veterinary Species”

As humans, we are accustomed to answering this question: on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain? Cats are a unique species in that they are both predators and prey. As such, they have evolved to be masters of masking their pain. Kristen Cooley, a Veterinary Technician Specialist in anesthesia and analgesia and veterinary cannabis counselor, will demonstrate new techniques that enable veterinary professionals to measure pain in cats using PainTrace, a new, non-invasive device that analyzes pain signals to better assess treatment needs during surgery, clinic visits and day-to-day activities.

Zoltan Szabo, DVM, DACZM, DABVP(ECM), DABVP(Avian), GpCert(ExAP), MRCVS Director of Exotic Services at Concordia Pet Care and Adjunct Professor at the City University of Hong Kong

“How to Perform Microsurgery on Small Mammals – Rabbits, Rodents, Hamsters”

Performing surgery to remove cancerous mammary glands on a hedgehog takes skill, steady hands and dedicated microsurgical instruments similar to the tools that eye surgeons use in humans. Spaying a hamster that is smaller than the surgeon’s hand, performing life-saving surgery to remove tumors from the chest cavity of rabbits or bone surgery on a tiny green iguana is also possible. “No patient is too small to help,” says Dr. Zoltan Szabo, who will teach veterinarians how to prepare for and perform a wide range of soft tissue and orthopedic surgical procedures on these and many other small mammals. “Twenty years ago, people did not spend this kind of money on their hamsters. Now they do, and the science follows.”

Sze Sze, a 180-gram hamster, enjoys her first postoperative meal after spaying. She is smaller than her surgeon’s hand.

Dr. Brian Scansen, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Cardiology)

Professor and Section Head, Cardiology & Cardiac Surgery, Colorado State University

“Mending Broken Hearts: Interventional and Minimally Invasive Cardiology”

An estimated eight million dogs in the U.S. have heart disease. Some are born with it, and many others develop it later in life as humans do. Historically, dysfunctional heart valves or developmental heart problems had to be repaired via open-heart surgeries with extensive recovery times – and there are only three centers in the world that perform open-heart surgery for dogs. That has changed in recent years with the introduction of minimally invasive heart procedures in veterinary medicine. Dr. Scansen, a pioneer in canine cardiology, utilizes advanced X-ray and ultrasound guidance to perform techniques similar to those used in human medicine, traveling through the patient’s arteries and veins to the heart to relieve obstructions or fix valves without the large incision and extensive recovery that open-heart surgery requires.

Cara Field, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACZM

Medical Director The Marine Mammal Center, Sausalito, Calif.

“Marine Mammal Rehabilitation – Not a Typical day in the Office”

Marine mammals that wash ashore suffer from a wide variety of health issues. Since they do not come with a history, diagnosing and understanding their health problems can be daunting. This session on stranded marine mammals will look at some of the challenges involved in both responding to marine mammals in distress as well as common illness presentations of various seals and sea lions. Dr. Field will discuss how she diagnoses and treats these patients both as an individual, such as a seal suffering from severe trauma due to fishing net entanglement, and in consideration of the potential impact on the health of wild populations- such as the high rate of cancer associated with pollutants in free-ranging California sea lions.

Jenny Fisher, RVT, VTS-Oncology

Director of Education Practivet, Baton Rouge, La.

“Brain Tumors in Dogs and Cats”

Many cancers that affect us can also impact our pets, including brain tumors. Brain tumors are more common in short-nosed breed dogs, like pugs, boxers, and Boston terriers, but any breed can be afflicted. To diagnose a brain tumor, a CT scan or MRI must be performed. Fisher notes that pet owners should look for these signs of a potential brain tumor: mental dullness, circling, getting lost in corners, seizures, change in normal behavior, weakness, wobbliness, difficulty moving, head tilt, loss of vision or loss of hearing.

Sharon Deem, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACZM

Director, Saint Louis Zoo Institute for Conservation Medicine

“One Health and Spillover From a Multi-Year Pandemic”

One of the many things scientists have learned from the COVID-19 global pandemic is that pandemics are not a one-way street. Viruses and pathogens can cross from animals to humans and from humans back to animals – referred to as “spillover” and “spill back.” Zoonotic disease events have increased in recent years and are happening with greater frequency as the relationships between species increase. Dr. Deem, a world-renowned expert in the area of One Health who specializes in wildlife and epidemiology, literally wrote the book on One Health – “One Health” – the textbook taught in many courses in veterinary, medical and undergraduate education programs. “Veterinarians are on the front lines when it comes to One Health,” says Dr. Deem. Her session will focus on how the human and veterinary medical communities work together to minimize future outbreaks.

Brennen McKenzie, MA, MSc, VMD

Associate Veterinarian, Adobe Animal Hospital, Los Altos, Calif. and Director of Veterinary Medicine, Loyal, San Francisco, Calif.

“Fountain of Youth?”

While most people think of aging as inevitable, something we cannot do anything about, Dr. Brennan McKenzie sees it as a treatable problem. An expert in the field of veterinary geriatrics, Dr. McKenzie will discuss how dogs age, how to approach aging as a modifiable factor for decreasing the risk of common geriatric diseases, and steps veterinarians can take to extend the lifespan and healthspan of dogs. He is also available to talk about how new research he is involved with is addressing the genetic and hormonal factors that give large breeds both their size and their shorter life span.

Dana Varble, DVM, CAE

NAVC Chief Veterinary Officer, Chicago, Ill.

As the NAVC’s senior executive responsible for all continuing education programs and events, and an exotics, general and emergency veterinarian, Dr. Varble can speak about all areas of veterinary medicine being presented at VMX.

Credentialed media may attend VMX for free, in person in Orlando or virtually. To register as press, contact publicrelations@navc.com.

About the NAVC

The North American Veterinary Community (NAVC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing veterinary professionals worldwide. The world’s leading provider of veterinary continuing education, the NAVC delivers essential training, tools and resources for veterinary professionals to stay abreast of advances in animal medicine and provide the best medical care for animals everywhere. Through its commitment to innovation and excellence, the NAVC has developed a diverse portfolio of products and services, including educational events, headlined by VMX, the world’s largest, most comprehensive continuing education conference and launchpad for new products and innovations within the veterinary industry; a robust digital platform for virtual learning and engagement; the veterinary industry’s largest and award-winning portfolio of trade publications; and an advocacy arm which unites the veterinary community and pet lovers. The NAVC was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Orlando, FL. Since 2017, the NAVC has been recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Orlando Sentinel. To learn more about the NAVC’s products and brands, visit https://navc.com/. To see our schedule of upcoming events, visit https://navc.com/calendar/.