www.drjwv.com
Newsletter:
Written by: Jeff Vidt, DVM

Volume 1, Issue 2
August 1997

The importance of pre-surgical evaluation.

     Veterinary surgery has made dramatic advances in the last decade in terms of patient safety. We use safer anesthetic agents; have more sophisticated monitoring equipment and better technical support. There has also been an increased awareness and emphasis placed on the importance of ore-surgical patient screening. This involves both blood testing and a urinalysis. Why should this be done? Due to the incidence of kidney problems in our breed and the young age at which it manifests itself, blood testing is extremely important. I often see Shar-Pei who shows clinical signs of disease only after the condition is very advanced. Blood testing allows us to pick up problems earlier when treatment may be most effective. Pre-surgical blood testing also augments the physical exam. By its very nature the physical exam can't tell us much about the internal aspects of the dog. Blood testing gives us a more complete picture of the dog's overall health. Lastly, blood testing gives us a good idea about what kind of surgical risk our patient is. Perhaps there is underlying disease which should be treated before surgery is contemplated. Or perhaps the tests indicate that there are some special precautions that need to be taken or a different anesthetic protocol is necessary. The use of presurgical blood screening is a useful modality to lessen the risks of anesthesia and surgery in our Shar-Pei patients.

Anesthesia and Anesthetic Monitoring

     Anesthesia is made up of the induction period, the maintenance period and the recovery period. It is very important that no food be given 12-18 hours prior to anesthesia. This reduces the risk of vomiting with subsequent aspiration and possible complications. Routinely we use an intravenous anesthetic to produce enough sedation that a tube can be passed into the trachea and a gas anesthetic can be administered. In Shar-Pei I often use an intramusculat sedative give in the exam room while the owner is holding the dog.

     Through experience I have learned that most Shar-Pei do not tolerate being put into a cage and waiting for their surgery time. They often don't like being physically restrained by strangers either. If you have to fight to restrain a Shar-Pei in order to administer an intavenous anesthetic you can run into some severe problems due to the "flight-or-fight" response. I've had many fewer problems giving an intramuscular anesthetic in the exam room with the owner holding the dog and then going right to surgery. I also use the safest gas anesthetic, isoflurane. All Shar-Pei under anesthesia are placed on a heart monitor which monitors the heart rate and gives an EKG visual display. Our technicians visually monitor all the patients watching things such as respiration rate, mucous membrane color, pulse, etc. I routinely administer fluids under the skin to all Shar-Pei patients to make sure they have water intake to maintain kidney function.

     While anesthesia in veterinary medicine is routine from the stand point of being a common practice I consider it anything but routine from a safety factor. There is always a risk when anyone, dog or person, is placed under anesthesia. These risks can be greatly minimized by close attention to monitoring the anesthesia, using state-of-the-art equipment, having good support staff and being prepared to deal with any emergencies that may arise.

Mast Cell Tumors in the Chinese Shar-Pei

      I've been very concerned about the increase in mast cell tumors I've been seeing in our breed lately. Mast cells are a type of cell seen throughout the body in many different tissues. These cells contain granules. Within the granules are substances which are mediators of inflammation and are important in allergic and inflammatory processes. Hives are often a result of degranulation of mast cells. Shar-Pei have a greater number of these cells in their skin and underlying tissue. Mast cell tumors typically have an ulcerated appearance and grow very rapidly. These are very aggressive tumors in Shar-Pei and the best therapy is to remove them as quickly as possible with wide surgical margins. Recurrence is common and spread to regional lymph nodes can occur. Chemotherapy is not too effective.

      Any skin mass in a Shar-Pei should be looked at ASAP. Often, mast cell tumors can be diagnosed on fine-needle aspirate in the exam room. Surgery can be curative in done early.

Allergies and the Chinese Shar-Pei

      Allergies are a major problem in the Chinese Shar-Pei and the Fall season is the worst time of the year. "Hayfever" occurs in dogs just as it occurs in people and the mechanism of the allergy is the same. The difference is in the target organ involved in the allergic response - people develop respiratory disease such as sneezing, runny eyes and nose, etc. and dogs develop itchy skin. The major symptom of hayfever-type allergy in the dog is scratching and licking. This can be very severe resulting in red skin, hair loss, sores and secondary bacterial infection

      How do we diagnose and treat allergies? There are really three ways to diagnose the condition. The first involves skin testing. This is usually done by a veterinary dermatologist (yes, there really are skin specialists in dogs!). This involves injecting the various allergens such as pollen, etc. in the skin and seeing which ones the dog reacts to Based on this information, a vaccine is developed containing these substances and the dog is vaccinated to stimulate immune tolerance to these allergens - a process called hyposensitization. This has about a 50-60% success rate. The second method involves a similar process, but uses a blood test to determine what the dog is allergic to. This method is known as RAST testing. Depending on who you talk to this method is great or lousy. It still involves hyposensitization shots. The main problem with both of these treatments involve the cost which can easily be $500-700.

      The last method involves guess work. Most hayfever allergies are seasonal and based on this pattern one can assume that an itching dog in the Fall has hayfever A more widely used form of treatment is drug therapy. Antihistamines can be used in dogs, but don't seem to be all that effective. Also, there use often involves a lot oftrial-and-error because there are so many available. Another drug therapy is fatty acid therapy. This is effective in about 30% of the dogs. The mainstay of drug therapy is cortisone, primarily prednisolone. This works very well, but has serious side-effects with long-term use. Fortunately most of the allergy dogs require its use for just a few months out of the year. Prednisolone is inexpensive and works in virtually all the allergy cases.

      The earlier treatment is started, the better. An initial exam is done to rule-out other causes of itching such as fleas, mites, bacterial skin disease, etc. and a cortisone injection is given to get immediate relief. Tablets are dispensed with a decreasing dosage schedule to follow. In most cases the treatment can be stopped as colder weather approaches.

Agility

      Agility is the newest AKC performance event. It is a combination of obstacle course , jumping competition and racing. The object of the event is to complete an obstacle course consisting of tunnels, A-frame, dog walk, weave poles, teeter-totter, table and many different types of jumps within a required amount of time with a minimum of deductions. Deductions are taken for missed obstacles, missing too much time to complete the course.

      This sport is excellent exercise for the dogs and the handlers. It is also mentally and psychologically stimulating for the dogs. It is not nearly as regimented as obedience competition and is a lot more fun for the dogs, the handlers and the spectators. It does require a physically fit dog and conditioning is very important - it's not a sport that can be done once a week and then let the dog be a couch potato the rest of the time. The handler also has to be in reasonably good shape as well.

      The Shar-Pei seems to do pretty well in agility. The sometimes have trouble with the time requirement, but usually are very steady on the obstacles. Often, agility classes and trials are held outdoors and some Shar-Pei don't tolerate the heat and humidity well - always keep that in mind. Classes are not that easy to come by because agility equipment is expensive and requires a lot of storage area. Agility also requires a lot of space.

CONTACT FOR AGILITY CLASSES
  1. Blitzen Canine Academy:
    Contact: Pam at 708 532-0939

  2. Creekwood Meadows - Mike Bond
    708 552-9007

  3. Burr Ridge Dog Training Center
    133 Tower Drive, Burr Ridge, IL 60521
    708 257-2767 or 708 887-7668

  4. Smack Dabs Obedience Training, Inc.
    30W125 Youghall, Warrenville, IL
    Contact: Kathy at 708 357-9549

  5. Windy City Agility
    The Centre at North Park
    10040 W. Addison, Franklin Park
    Contact: Lou at 708 279-4999

    There are several agility organizations each with a slightly different bend to the sport.
  1. America Kennel Club(AKC)
    Suit 200, 5580 Centerview Drive,
    Raleigh, NC 27606-3390
    919 233-9767

  2. North American Dog Agility Council, Inc. (NADAC)
    HCR 2 Box 277,
    St. Maries, ID 83861
    208 689-3803

  3. United Kennel Club (UKC)
    100 East Kilgore Rd.,
    Kalamzoo, MI 49001-5598
    616 343-9020

  4. United States Dog Agility Association, Inc. (USDAA)
    P.O. Box 850955
    Richardson, TX 75085-0955
    214 231-9700