Kitty face of the week

Enter Canine Rehabilitation. In the last ten years, the fastest growing area of veterinary medicine is canine rehab, which is basically physical therapy. With the development of this new area of veterinary medicine comes the idea that using mechanical appliances (orthotics and prosthetics) to help our patient’s mobility is no longer reserved for human patients alone. Orthotics are braces and Prosthetics are artificial limbs. These now offer treatment options where none existed before. I am now convinced that these items can improve my patient’s quality of life. Once a patient receives a prosthetic or orthotic, he or she works with a rehab therapist to learn how to use the device.

My friend Martin was educated in human medicine and orthotics/prosthetics. A career shift brought him to veterinary medicine. As we talked, I learned how surprised he was to find that we don’t try to salvage as much of a limb as possible. In human medicine they keep as much of a limb as they can. This eventually translates into more of a limb to work with. He told me that, except for walking normally, when an animal has more of it’s leg, he can shift better in bed, use the stump to play with a ball or help him stand. With the help of people like Martin, artificial limbs are now a possibility, and I have realized that we, as veterinarians, might be selling our patients short. With the help of a rehabilitation therapist, braces or even artificial limbs can help our patients come much closer to normal activity than we have been able to provide up until now.

Pete has lost the chance to have an artificial limb, but he is doing well with his physical therapy and now walks well on his three remaining legs. Dr Young