Longmead Vets

28/05/2024

Today it’s time to celebrate Amber as she’s passed her final exams and is now qualified as a Registered Veterinary Nurse! We’re proud of you Amber 🎉🦄

26/04/2024

We’re celebrating the fabulous news that Daisy has passed her final exams and is now a Registered Veterinary Nurse! Congratulations Daisy 🎉

09/07/2023

14/03/2023

As of 10th June 2024 it will become compulsory for all pet cats to be microchipped.

New legislation laid in Parliament today introducing mandatory cat microchipping

01/03/2023

Congratulations to Leanne who is now a fully qualified Veterinary Nurse!

17/10/2022

An Prevention Zone is in place across Great Britain. If you own , even just pet , or other captive birds, including , you must take action now to improve your to reduce the risk of disease spread. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/avian-influenza-prevention-zone-declared-across-great-britain

29/09/2022

Kitty’s Story.

Kitty was born in the summer of 2021. At almost the same time, the drug which would save her life 12 months later became available for veterinary use. That drug is called REMDESIVIR. In the post covid era, many people are familiar with this drug. It was, and still is used to treat severe hospitalised covid patients.

Cats like most other species have their own coronavirus. It is called feline enteric coronavirus. It is very widespread and in most cases, owners are completely unaware that their cats have been infected. It causes a mild diarrhoea for a few days then the cat is back to normal. In a very small proportion of infected cats the virus changes during the infection and if the cat’s immune system reacts in a certain way, they develop a condition known as Feline Infectious Peritonitis (F.I.P).

F.I.P is a complex disease and infected cats can show a variety of signs. One of the most common presentations is very large tummy due to the accumulation of fluid, lethargy, fever and a poor appetite. This was how Kitty presented to us in the summer.

F.I.P is a horrible disease because affected cats are almost always under two years old and the prognosis, before Remdesivir became available, was always terminal. As a veterinary surgeon that has been in small animal practice for 25yrs I have euthanased dozens of cats with FIP and its heart-breaking every time.

Kitty started her treatment with Remdesivir in August and her response to treatment has been amazing. We hospitalised her for the first week when she had intravenous injections of the drug (through a catheter in her leg). After the first week she went home on one tablet a day. Her massive tummy which was full of fluid shrank rapidly, her appetite improved and she is gaining weight.

So does this mean I will never have to euthanase another cat with F.I.P? Unfortunately not. There is a problem with Remdesivir. It is very, very expensive. A single tablet of the drug is in excess of £60 and cats typically need 84 days of treatment. A course of treatment for a cat with F.I.P is in the region of £7000-£10000. Fortunately for Kitty, her owners had her insured. It goes without saying that she would not be sitting on the table today, looking slightly hacked off, but otherwise healthy, if her owners had decided not to.

06/09/2022

Alwyn was our first patient through the CT scanner today. We were scanning his shoulder joints. The software can render the scan data into some amazing 3D imagery that can be rotated and manipulated on screen with a phenomenal level of detail.

19/08/2022

Not many people get the opportunity to see inside the doughnut shaped cover of a CT scanner.

The circuit board and ring at the front do not move, everything else spins at three revolutions per second when the scanner is in operation and weighs about half a ton. It is all perfectly balanced by the counterweight visible in the top right of the picture.

We often feel uneasy about having scans ourselves and this is a well founded feeling. Although perfectly safe, you are very close to some very heavy, very fast moving chunks of high technology.

The scanner is manufactured by the medical arm of General Electric. A company most famous for manufacturing jet engines. There are some tenuous similarities.

28/07/2022

*UPDATE-NOW REUNITED* We have had a beautiful cat brought in as a possible stray in Shaftesbury but he is very healthy and microchipped but we cannot contact his owner. If you are missing this cat please get in contact with us. We do have his name and owner details so we will know for sure who his owner is when they get in contact. Thank you

28/06/2022

A little update on our exciting CT scanner!
Work is progressing well. The lead walls are now up and all the doors are on.
We are so excited to soon be able to offer this service to our local clients!
A CT scanner is an advanced form of 3-D X-ray that can help us diagnose a variety of complex conditions to which we would have had to refer previously.

We will keep you posted on the progress up until our installation and commission in August.

21/06/2022

We are delighted to announce that due to practice expansion we are looking to recruit THREE veterinary surgeons to join our INDEPENDENT companion animal practice based in Shaftesbury, North Dorset and Wincanton, Somerset.

**Full Time experienced Veterinary Surgeon** **Part Time experienced Veterinary Surgeon** **Newly qualified Graduate Veterinary Surgeon**

The practice has very good facilities and we are currently extending our Shaftesbury practice, adding two new theatres, and will be installing our new CT SCANNER later this summer. Our Wincanton practice was purpose built in 2017. We offer orthopaedic surgery, laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures and take referral cases from surrounding practices.

This is a great opportunity to join our team of vets who have a good mix of clinical interests and skills. Our experienced team manage complex medical and surgical conditions and there is a mixed work pattern to include surgical and consulting time. You will have clinical freedom to investigate and manage cases, while benefitting from the support of the team to discuss and collaborate on complex cases.

We encourage our vets to develop their own clinical interests, with funding to certificate level, and our Vet GDP Advisor will support and mentor new graduates joining our team.

07/04/2022

Today we celebrated Beth becoming a fully qualified Veterinary Nurse. Beth has worked hard and is a great nurse and we are all really proud of her.

24/03/2022

C.T Scanner coming soon!

A three phase electrical supply is being installed at our Shaftesbury Surgery today to power our C.T Scanner which is being delivered and commissioned in July.

What is CT?

A C.T (computed tomography) scanner has a rotating x-ray generator in the doughnut shaped part of the scanner (gantry) which rotates rapidly around the patient. Each revolution of the scanners internal components produces a two dimensional image through the patient (a slice). During a scan, the patient advances through the scanner and a series of two dimensional slices are produced. Powerful computers then combine the slices to produce images.

What are the advantages?

When you take a normal X-ray all of the structures are superimposed on each other. A CT scanner produces slices which are essentially cross sections through the patient. This makes the interpretation of complex body parts a lot easier. These slices can be added together so smaller abnormalities can be seen that would be invisible on traditional x-rays. It is an extremely versatile piece of equipment and can be used in conjunction with contrast media to look at all body systems.

We envisage the CT scanner being an invaluable addition to the already extensive range of diagnostic equipment that we have available in house. It will significantly reduced the frequency of us having to refer patients to specialist centers for advanced imaging.

22/02/2022

Atticus came in as an emergency last night after sudden onset severe sneezing whilst out on a walk. We suspected an inhaled foreign body but were amazed when we retrieved a 3 inch stick from within his nose ! He has made a full recovery and is back to his normal bouncy self 😁

20/12/2021

Corky came to see us in Wincanton today with a history of sneezing and nosebleeds.....

25/09/2021

Today we did an emergency caesarean on French Bulldog Destiny. She wasn't due for another week but had become very unwell so needed to get the puppies out quickly. Unbelievably she had 11 puppies - 9 survived and are doing really well, as is Destiny.

10/09/2021

Found. Black and white young female cat. No chip. Has skin issues. Found Nettlecombe area. If you think she is yours please provide photos to confirm.

27/07/2021

What could be better than watching a baby hedgehog eating his dinner ?

03/06/2021

Sapphire recently ruptured her cruciate ligament in her knee and needed surgery. Matt, who specialises in orthopaedics, carried out a tibial tuberosity advancement to restabilise the joint. Hopefully Sapphire will be back to full fitness again soon.

21/05/2021

Today Luna the tenrec came in for an xray. Luna was suffering from metabolic bone disease and today's xray confirmed a significant improvement.

19/04/2021

We have had a stray ferret handed in to our Wincanton branch. If anyone is missing one please give us a call. Thanks

17/03/2021

Dora was really struggling with arthritis despite ongoing medication. We are now stocking a new once monthly injection for arthritis and Dora was one of the first of our patients to receive this. Her owner was overwhelmed by her improvement in just 24 hours. Attached are before and after videos of her taken the day before and the day after her injection. She should continue to improve still. Please call us if you would like to consider this for your dog.

22/02/2021

Olive managed to run on to a stick whilst out on a walk. It went in to her chest, collapsed her left lung and ended up sitting against her heart but luckily didn't puncture it. The stick was removed under anaesthetic and a chest drain was placed to drain the air from her collapsed lung. She remained cheerful all through her recovery and is currently doing really well.

04/02/2021

This week we had 13 gorgeous baby Giant Continental bunnies come in for their first vaccines. At 8 weeks old they are already over 1.5kg and can be 6kg as adults.

02/02/2021

Puppies are very open to new experiences up to the age of 12-14 weeks. This period can shape their behaviour for the rest of their lives. This makes puppies from a home environment the most confident due to the varied experiences they will have had. Continuing positive new experiences when they come to you at 8 weeks will set them up for life !