Southern Counties Veterinary Specialists

03/01/2025

01/01/2025

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year from all the team here at SCVS.

30/12/2024

Meet Icon

This is Icon, an 8-month-old oriental shorthair kitten with a heart full of love.

Icon went missing and returned home two days later. At first, he seemed fine, but a lump on his head was identified as an abscess. His owner noticed it and sought care, and Icon appeared stable. However, within 12 hours, he became lethargic, stopped eating, and showed worrying neurological symptoms, including seizures.

When Icon arrived, he was minimally responsiveness and severe neurological concerns. Despite the odds, Icon began showing remarkable improvement within the first 12 hours under the care watch of our ICU and Neurology teams. Over the next four days, his recovery was nothing short of amazing. He regained full alertness, started walking independently, and his reflexes normalized.

We’re so proud of Icon and grateful to have played a part in his recovery. Let’s give a big cheer for this brave little kitten!

23/12/2024

Congratulations to our team for reaccreditation of our ISFM Gold Standard Cat Friendly Clinic.
We are very proud of our feline care across our hospital and always developing new initiatives to ensure their stay with us is the best it could be.

23/12/2024

Our experienced team are here to support you and your pets should you need us throughout the year.

21/12/2024

Our highly experienced cardiology team are here to support your pets at every stage of their growth and development.

18/12/2024

13/12/2024

Our team have been enjoying getting into the festive spirit this week.

A massive shout out to the very talented to The Woodland Ferns for hosting a wreath making workshop here for our team.

As you can see - they are not just talented clinically, but creatively too!

12/12/2024

Our team supporting Christmas Jumper Day

08/12/2024

This made us smile...
One of our clients was excited to spot their favourite clinician Flo in our new calendar!

05/12/2024

Meet Handsome Loki!

This beautiful young and full of energy Springer Spaniel, sadly broke his humerus in three pieces after a fall in September.

Our orthopaedic team promptly admitted Loki on the weekend and diagnosed him a humeral intracondylar Y fracture. Surgery went well and Loki was discharged just a few days later.

Our team were delighted to see him back and very please with Loki's progression. Well done handsome Loki!

29/11/2024

Meet Beautiful Bea!

Bea presented with a sudden onset of generalised incoordination, difficulties walking and a head tremor after a walk in the forest. These signs were consistent with a dysfunction of her cerebellum; this is a part of the brain responsible for coordinating movement and balance.

Although not seen, it was presumed she had ingested a toxic substance on her walk. Whilst the type of toxin is not always identifiable, prompt treatment is recommended: bloods samples showed no significant impact on her liver or kidneys and Bea was placed on intravenous fluid therapy with lipid emulsion administered intravenously & activated charcoal to absorb the toxins & stayed in ICU for 24hours observation.

Thankfully she showed very good improvements over the following days and made a full recovery.

Bea is back having fun with her lovely family.

26/11/2024

Huge congratulations to Luis, one of our Diagnostic Imaging Residents, for getting his research project published yesterday!

This is a collaborative study with our Medicine department and multiple other Imaging departments, in which Luis evaluated the CT characteristics of liver infections in dogs and compared them to the features reported in human medicine. Bacterial infections in dogs are rare and difficult to diagnose, and we are hoping that Luis’ project provides better helps in imaging interpretation of suspected cases. For those willing to read the full text, please follow: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14233399

Maté de Haro, L.; Vila, A.; Di Bella, A.; Mallol, C.; Anselmi, C.; Barreiro-Vazquez, J.-D.; Pollard, D.; Salgüero, R.; Fitzgerald, E.; Moreno-Aguado, B. Computed Tomographic Findings in Dogs with Hepatic Bacterial Parenchymal Infection and Abscessation. Animals 2024, 14, 3399

21/11/2024

20/11/2024

Meet Handsome Casper!
This brave cat came to us with some concerning symptoms—gagging, retching, wheezing, and open-mouth breathing. His owner noticed these signs suddenly, and they were definitely not normal. 🐾

We quickly got to work and performed thoracic radiographs (X-rays) to investigate. The X-rays showed something unusual—a soft tissue opacity in his trachea, right at the level of the carina (where the windpipe splits). This led us to suspect a tracheal foreign body—a foreign object stuck in his airway.

To confirm, we performed a bronchoscopy, which is essentially a camera-guided exam inside the airway. Sure enough, we found the foreign body lodged in Casper's trachea. Fortunately, we were able to remove it endoscopically—a minimally invasive procedure—without the need for major surgery.

After the procedure, Casper went home to his family with medications to help him recover.

Important Takeaway for Pet Owners: If your pet is suddenly having difficulty breathing, gagging, or showing signs of distress like open-mouth breathing or coughing, don't wait! These could be signs of something stuck in their airway or another serious issue. Early intervention can make all the difference.

19/11/2024

Our Neurologists have been out presenting again - this time in Czech Republic at the IVSA Brno Neuro-Behavioural Congress and IVSA Slovakia Student Congress at the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Košice!

Athina and Amy our 3rd year residents were delighted to be invited to speak at these events.

15/11/2024

Celebrating success in our nursing team.

Kayleigh Barnes has gained a graduate certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (GradCertAVN) and Holly Fagan has gained a postgraduate certificate in Advanced Veterinary Nursing (PGCertAVN) focusing on emergency and critical care.

The RVC graduate and postgraduate certificates are awarded in conjunction with London University, designed to empower nurses to develop knowledge and skills to an advanced level in clinical practice.

Well done Holly and Kayleigh!