Veterinary Anaesthesia & Pain Management Consulting

11/11/2024

It’s been a week & I needed a nap. Thanks to the team at Jindalee who made sure I was sleeping safely 😂
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06/11/2024

“Pain assessment and management are essential parts of our commitment to patient care. Identifying and treating pain in animals can be challenging—since they can’t simply tell us where it hurts! Miss Maple, our sweet whippet patient, had been experiencing discomfort in her lower back (it’s hard work being this cute!).

After a relaxing acupuncture session targeting her lumbar muscles, she visibly relaxed, and her mum noticed a significant improvement in her comfort and movement. It’s incredibly rewarding to provide diverse pain management options tailored to each patient’s needs, helping them live their best lives. 🌿🐾 ”

02/11/2024

It’s been a loooong six weeks off work (unfortunate incident involving my road bike & a magpie). I was unbelievably excited to be back working with the team at last week. I’m still not able to drive so the whole team stepped up to chauffeur me around and made sure I was where I needed to be!

19/10/2024

Excellent illustration depicting the spectrum between nociceptive and nociplastic (chronic) pain

In this week’s featured image, Kristian K. Petersen et al. illustrates how a patient with joint pain can be placed on a spectrum between nociceptive and nociplastic pain without truly belonging to either phenotype. Learn more in their commentary: https://bit.ly/3YfxWgt

24/09/2024

September is animal pain awareness month - don’t forget about pain in our pocket pets whose default survival mechanism is to mask their pain

🦜🐢🐇🐍 September is Animal Pain Awareness Month! When you care for an exotic pet, it's important to know the signs that indicate they could be suffering.

Be on the lookout for these postures and behaviors and contact your veterinarian if you think your pet is in pain. ❌ Never try to treat your pet with human medications since many are toxic to pets.

🐀 Learn more about pain in exotic pets in our webinar with Dr. La'Toya Latney, Senior Veterinarian in AMC's Avian & Exotic Pets Service. https://youtu.be/0jFMIGk9JKE?si=RCsbo8Nb3hWp16TV

22/08/2024

VetPrac provides excellent anaesthesia & pain management training. Definitely worth taking a look!

Would you like to know more about tailoring pain medications and anaesthesia? Our Anaesthesia & Analgesia on demand course covers this, plus insights into common drug interactions and troubleshooting, and how to optimise the use of your monitors.

Exactly what you need, to the point, delivered clearly, at your own pace. Have a look right now >> https://vetprac.com.au/on_demand/anaesthesia-analgesia-for-practitioners/

16/07/2024

🐱Dr Paolo Steagall is an absolute authority on the very difficult area of feline pain assessment and management. NSAIDS in our feline patients is an area which always seems to trigger concern.

This is a great opportunity to get the latest information and best of all access to this webinar is free!

NSAIDs - what’s new? 🤔 In this month’s open access webinar, Dr Paulo Steagall will discuss the recently published 2024 ISFM and AAFP consensus guidelines on the long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in cats. 🐈

🗓️ Wednesday 24 July, 19:00

Read the guidelines here 📖 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/1098612X241241951

Register now to join us for the talk or be sent the link so you can watch it later 👉 https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_P5Q6hAF3R4CRZ40YcmJPVA


American Association of Feline Practitioners

16/07/2024

🚀 **Introducing Our New Teleconsultation-Based Anaesthetic Support for Veterinarians!** 🚀

We're thrilled to announce the launch of two new services designed to support veterinarians in anaesthetic management and pain relief.

🐾 **Anaesthetic Planning and Support**
One-to-one planning for individual cases including a full report from a specialist anaesthetist following remote telephonic or video conference session
- **How it works:** Share your patient's details and clinical history with us, along with information about your clinic’s capabilities
- **What you get:** A comprehensive written report with anaesthetic management strategies tailored to your clinic. Useful references will also be provided to give your staff some literature and resources for similar cases in the future.
- **Extra support:** Phone or message-based follow-up during the anaesthetic to address any concerns.
- **Purpose:** Prepare in advance for procedures and optimize analgesia.

📞 **"Phone a Friend" Service**
- **Format:** Informal phone/video call or message-based advice.
- **Scope:** Troubleshoot anaesthesia, pain management, or equipment concerns. **Limitation** Focused on a single issue/patient.

💻 **Visit Our Website!**
Explore these new services and discover more about our existing offerings for veterinarians, nurses, pet owners, and veterinary practices.

🔗 www.vapmc.com

Elevate your veterinary practice with expert anaesthetic support today! 🌟

11/07/2024

What a fantastic initiative to showcase the work of veterinary anaesthesiologists to our human counterparts.

Great work Wendy & Jane.

11/07/2024

New AAHA fluid therapy guidelines for 2024. An essential read

Animal hospitals around the world earn AAHA accreditation to strengthen their business, advance their team, and provide the best possible care to companion animals.

09/07/2024

What’s better than one specialist veterinary anaesthetist? Two of course!

The first portion of our exciting news is that Dr Heidi Lehmann will be joining VAPMC, providing training and clinical anaesthesia & pain management services.

Heidi is based in Western Australia & will be supporting practices within the region.

She will also be joining me in providing telemedicine services to referring veterinarians nation wide (more on this to come soon!)

Welcome Heidi - so happy to have you on board!

06/07/2024

We have several exciting announcements coming up.

Watch this space!

23/06/2024

CSS is a great place to work. If you are a nurse and love cats definitely worth considering!

WANTED: F/T CONSULT NURSE - FELINE

We are looking for an experienced & qualified Veterinary Nurse to assist our clinicians with consults and check-ups.

About us
😺Alongside , Dr Rachel Korman established CSS - a new, specialist, cat-only, referral hospital providing high-quality care for cats in our purpose-built facility. Located next-door to VSS Underwood.
😺We have created a supportive environment where people can do their best work and provide the best possible care for our patients.
😺We have a diverse team and offer most specialities, diagnostic modalities and therapies. Our team are heavily involved in the vet industry, professional groups, universities and continuing education.

Benefits:
😺We focus on people, their careers and their development.
😺Supportive learning environment.
😺Access to further education and seminars, with the possibility of paid study leave.
😺Exposure to a diverse caseload, where no two days are the same.
😺Supportive network of like-minded professionals.
😺Full time role, Monday to Friday – no weekends!

The Role:
😺Cat friendly interactions & handling.
😺Assistance with physical exams (including phlebotomy & doppler blood pressure).
😺Assistance with patient checks.
😺Assistance with procedures (e.g. ultrasound & radiology).
😺Care for hyperthyroid cats post radioactive iodine treatment (with training).
😺Assistance with client education.
😺Admission & discharges.
😺Annual remuneration is commensurate with experience.

About You:
😺Experienced Veterinary Nurse who loves cats.
😺Min 2 years' nursing experience (busy general practice or referral hospital).
😺Cert IV in Vet Nursing/BAppSc (Vet Technology) degree/equivalent.
😺Great communication skills, organised & attention to detail.
😺Team player who can work with different personalities.
😺Skilled in problem solving & decision making.
😺Multi-tasker who can adapt to change in a busy, multidisciplinary workplace.
😺Compassionate, empathetic & caring approach to patients.

APPLY NOW
Please email your CV and cover letter to [email protected] or phone Jennine Bennett on 07 3841 7011 for more information or to arrange a hospital tour.

18/06/2024

We can do hard things - Meet Archie, a very sweet miniature dachshund who needed some essential dental care with Dr Rebecca Tucker at Advanced Animal Dentistry.

Archie is nearly 15 years old and had previously had some very low blood pressure during an anaesthetic. Maintaining normal blood pressure is one of the important tasks you pet’s anaesthesiologist will manage during an anaesthetic. Ensuring adequate blood flow to organs like the kidneys, liver and brain avoids complications during and after anaesthesia.

In Archie’s case we needed to work hard to keep his pressures in the normal range and managed to do this by continually adjusting the type and dose of anaesthetic agent as well as giving some supplemental intravenous fluids and extra medications. Most importantly we were monitoring his blood pressure and other vital signs the whole way through the procedure so we knew when and how to intervene.

Archie was a rock star - he woke up quickly and smoothly and spent some time hanging out under some heated blankets having cuddles with me while I finished off his anaesthetic record.

06/06/2024

Thanks Abbie for describing what it is like to be a female in scrubs.

Misogyny is definitely alive and well in veterinary medicine. This reminds me of the time that I (female specialist anaesthesiologist) received a “compliment” from a male surgeon I worked with, he said “I want you to know I don’t think of you as a nurse or anything…..”

**SPOILER ALERT**; the fact he felt it was appropriate to share this indicated
1) he sure did think of me as a “nurse” & not a highly skilled, specialist veterinarian with over two decades of experience in specialty anaesthetic practice and 2) that he sees nurses as an inferior part of the specialty care team & not as deeply committed individuals who go above and beyond to ensure the care and comfort of OUR patients.

Perhaps he was confused because as an anaesthesiologist, my main remit is to ensure our patients are cared for, safe and comfortable. I will bust a gut to expedite patient care, minimise anaesthetic time and work as an integral part of the team to get whatever needs to get done completed in a timely manner, (regardless of whether that is in my job description or not, this includes nursing tasks).

It’s still pretty insulting to both me and to my nursing colleagues.

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I was in consultation just 3 days ago - I described the recommended procedure, complications, prognosis and costs. The owner then called his wife - "I've just been speaking with the nurse". ⁠
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I'm taking the kids with me to 'Vets on Tour' in NZ (where I am a keynote speaker at the ski conference), so I've been hitting up FB Marketplace for kids ski gear, picking items up on my way home in my scrubs. I've been asked twice in the last one week if I enjoy being a nurse. ⁠
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Now don't get me wrong - when I hear these words there is no offence taken. I secretly (or now not so secretly) take it as a compliment that I look like a nurse. This is probably because of my own subconscious bias, based on actual reality, that nurses are kind, caring people. I like that this is how I look. ⁠
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But I'm not a nurse. I have loved and studied Surgery from the moment I graduated as a vet 20 years ago. I sat my Memberships in Small Animal Surgery 14 years ago then subsequently examined this subject (then became head examiner for this subject). I then gained a residency in Small Animal Surgery (at which point I was the only female resident/registrar or specialist surgeon of 10 surgeons in the group). I went through a vigorous training programme where I published my research in veterinary journals, presented it at international conferences, and submitted a 450 surgery case log to credential to sit Fellowship exams. I then studied surgery 13.5 hours a day for 3 months locked in a room away from my young family and passed my Specialist Surgical Examinations. I was the only person in my year to pass. All other candidates, that looked like surgeons, did not pass in my year. I am now the President of the Surgery Chapter and I am helping set up an incredible Brachycephalic Care Unit at my hospital that I am immensely proud of.
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I love that I look like a nurse. But I also hope that one day, there will be so many female surgeons that look like I do, that I will arrive at someone's house in my scrubs on the way home, and they will say "Do you enjoy being a surgeon?"

05/06/2024

We are fortunate to have methadone available as an analgesic agent for our veterinary patients. One distinct advantage over other opioids is that because of it’s particular pharmacology it can help in the management of opioid induced hyperalgesia.

24/08/2023

Please take a moment to read this letter to the editor addressing the conclusions reached in a recent paper "Acute kidney injury in 18 cats after subcutaneous meloxicam and an update on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug usage in feline patients in Australia".

The letter to the editor has been made available as open access for the next three months.

The recommendations of the authors could significantly affect efforts to provide adequate analgesia to feline patients and subsequently reduce standards of welfare in cats.

Click on the article title to read more.

13/07/2023

• While the precise mechanism for OIH is not fully understood, it is likely the result of multifactorial changes, and the impact of opioid exposure on the descending modulatory system suggests important mechanisms for targeted prevention and treatment.

• Operations requiring short-term exposure to high potency opioids should utilize the lowest possible infusion doses.

• Non-opioid analgesics can assist with opioid dose reduction and may play a role in OIH prevention.

• Treatment of OIH requires tapering opioids and use of alternative pain management techniques.

Taken from Wilson et al, management of perioperative opioid-induced hyperalgesia. Pain Manag. 2021 Apr;11(4):405-417.