Hi there,
so, I don't post to reddit too often but I've come across a dilemma and I'd like some outside advice on it. I feel like my family vet neglected my dog and basically watched him lose an eye. I'm having some pretty big feelings about it, and my mom wants to take it to the veterinary board. I've never really dealt with this kind of situation before and I'm conflicted because I feel like it's possible that I'm just really upset about what happened and looking for someone to blame. I'm going to try and be as thorough as possible with this explanation so I appreciate if you take the time to read it and give me your two cents. Bonus points if you work in animal medicine.
So, about two weeks ago in the middle of the night on the third of September I noticed my 4 year old Siberian Husky, Odin, had his right eye closed. I didn't think much of it and went to sleep, but that morning he still had it closed and upon inspection it seemed a little cloudy, but there was no redness. I took him to my primary vet immediately, who I have seen regularly since Odin was almost a year old.
The first thing my vet did was check the pressure in Odin's eye. He said the pressure was normal and therefore he "was ruling out glaucoma." He looked in the back of Odin's eye and said everything appeared to be in good shape, there was no sign of a trauma or obstruction. He said he imagined that Odin was wrestling with our cat and she scratched his eye in a place we can't see. He gave us some anti-inflammatory/anti-biotic eyedrops and sent us home and told us to come see him at the end of the week for a recheck.
Tuesday, Odin seemed to be feeling better. He was opening his eye more but it was still a bit cloudy. He didn't want to eat his kibble, which is pretty common, when he's feeling crappy he goes on hunger strikes. So I gave him some canned fish.
Wednesday was really worrisome. Odin did not want to leave the bed, he didn't have any interest in any food at all. I called the vet and he said to bring him in Thursday morning. I almost took him to the emergency vet at this point but his eye didn't look any worse and late that night he ate some canned fish so I felt a little better about it.
Thursday morning we arrive at the vet. Vet checked the pressure again and said it was normal. I told him I was concerned it was getting worse because there was some redness developing at that point and he seemed like he was in a lot of pain. They checked his eye again and said that he wasn't concerned Odin being in a lot of pain because his eye was not dilating, if his pupil were very small, he said, that indicates pain, but his pupil was just stuck very large and his other one was normal so he was probably fine.
He noted that he could no longer could see the back of Odin's eye, but he said overall there was less inflammation and it had improved. I asked him if the cloudiness in his eye/not being able to see the back of it was an emergency, and he said no but he was going to refer us to a specialist. He said he would call the specialist and get us in as early as possible.
Vet also did a blood panel and said he didn't think the not eating was related to the eye. The panel came back normal and he said the next step would be to do x-rays to check for a blockage. I said that I felt like it did have something to do with his eye, and wondered if maybe we could try a mild painkiller or something for it. He said he didn't feel the need to prescribe a painkiller and if Odin were any other breed he would insist on the x-rays but huskies tend to be dramatic and the "small discomfort" his eye was causing him probably put him off eating, but to come back if I couldn't get him to eat at all.
So, at this point I'd like to point out that I'm the annoying dog-mom who googles EVERYTHING and annoys her vets and family/friends with all the information and studies I read, which is exactly what I did that weekend waiting to see the specialist on Monday. Everything I read said "glaucoma, glaucoma, glaucoma" which I was like "OH THANK GOD the pressure in his eyes were normal and it's not glaucoma." I really tried to stave off my instinct to just rush him to another vet to get a second opinion, but I figured we were going to see the specialist on Monday anyway so as long as he was drinking and going to the bathroom normally it could wait.
Monday morning arrives and within ten minutes of seeing us the specialist informed me that Odin had glaucoma in his right eye. He said the pressure was 60, and normal range is 15-25. He told me that Odin had no vision left in his eye at this point and we would have to remove it to prevent any pain or discomfort. He also said he wasn't surprised at Odin's lethargy and lack of appetite, as glaucoma typically felt like a chronic migraine. He prescribed us two pain killers, one of which is a narcotic, for Odin to take before his surgery.
I kept asking him how it was possible as my vet had told me the pressure in his eye was fine. The specialist said that he wished he had an answer for me, but my vet didn't forward him any of Odins test results or medical history. The only thing that was said in the referral was "assess cloudy right eye."
He also told me that glaucoma is common in huskies, it's a hereditary disease that is caused by the drains in their eyes not forming properly, so basically they get backed up and cause an increase in pressure in the eye, which then can destroy the optic nerve in a matter of hours if it's not caught. He said he was confident it was glaucoma even despite the symptoms of the right eye, because he could see the drain in Odins left eye is also malformed, so it would develop there, too. I also learned that his pupil being stuck large and not dilating smaller is a sign of optic nerve damage.
I booked the surgery for the following day, and I asked the specialist if I had brought Odin to the emergency clinic the week before if we could have saved his eye and he said yes, probably.
I can't even explain how devastated I was at this point. And also like a complete idiot. I feel so much guilt, I should have trusted my instinct and taken Odin to the emergency clinic on Monday when the vet said he couldn't see anything wrong.
But at the same time, I don't understand how my primary vet watched the condition of my dogs eye decline, and didn't recognize the emergency ?
I understand that sometimes people make the wrong call, and not everyone is perfect. But the second time I brought Odin in, with not being able to see the back of his eye, and the obvious amount of pain he was in, and he still brushed it off even though he wasn't sure of the cause. I thought that the pressure being good meant it wasn't anything too serious, but if he had of informed me at any point that there was a still a slight possibility it was glaucoma or something else just as bad, I would have taken him to the emergency vet immediately. Furthermore, after the second visit, if he had of told me the blood pooling in the back of Odins eye was cause for alarm and his optic nerve was in the process of being damaged, I would have rushed him in then.
Typing this out makes me see how obvious the signs were that I should have just listened to my gut and taken my boy to the emergency vet right away. I also feel like my primary vet care ignored some pretty obvious signs there was something seriously wrong, whether he really believed their wasn't or was just being negligent.
After the surgery, I spoke about my concerns to the specialist, and asked if he thought my feelings were justified and he said that the equipment he uses is different and far more accurate that the ones primary vets typically have, as they see 1-2 cases of glaucoma a year but he sees them every day. He said the tools they have are also very sensitive and can be inaccurate at times, especially if a vet isn't used to using them all the time.
His defending my primary vet sort of gives me pause to reporting him to a veterinary board, as I can somewhat understand, but at the same time I went to see my primary vet twice, and the second time there were signs to indicate permanent damage had been done to Odins eye, but he told me there had been an improvement.
If he's unfamiliar with eyes and glaucoma and the signs it presents, I feel like he should have admitted that and suggested an emergency visit or maybe asked another doctor with more experience take a look at it at the clinic, instead of waiting the extra 4 days for a specialist.
On top of all that, I can't believe my primary vet didn't forward the initial test results to the specialist. I don't even really have words for that. He even called the specialist and didn't explain what was happening, maybe if he did they would have recommended to see us sooner.
Almost just as bad, he wrote off obvious signs my poor boy was in pain. I feel so incredibly guilty and baffled that he overlooked Odins symptoms and let him suffer for over a week with a constant migraine.
The specialist told me that the important thing is now I know the warning signs of glaucoma for myself, and know to bring Odin into emergency right away if he experiences those symptoms with his left eye.
But I feel like if my primary vet couldn't recognize these signs, what's even the point of going to them?
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If you've read my entire post I thank you profusely and would really appreciate your two cents. Especially if you have experience in a veterinary clinic. I've never really dealt with something like this before, and I'd like your thoughts on if my feelings towards my primary vet being negligent are valid, or if perhaps it's just my own guilt and looking for someone else to blame.
x/posted to r/advice for extra advice
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/ar6j9l/advice_on_possible_veterinary_malpractice/
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