Check out this extensive list of people, pets, medical and surgical problems, and staff that we have been involved with over the last year.

Photos from Long Beach Animal Hospital's post ... See MoreSee Less
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Photos from Long Beach Animal Hospital's post ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Final DayFarewell!It is so hard to believe that my incredible externship experience here at LBAH is coming to a close today. I learned more applicable clinical skills and knowledge in one month here than I typically did in a didactic semester in veterinary school. The website with all of the medical information on it is a tremendous source of information, and I used it often to brush up and prepare my cases for rounds. So many thanks are in order, and it’s tough to know where to even start ! Thank you Dr. Palazzolo who was instrumental in starting this externship program before I was even born. His comprehensive knowledge of everything veterinary medicine related is amazing, and with his dedication to teaching students, like me, even more astounding. I can’t imagine starting my career without his mentoring (and morning rounds). He taught me how to think critically by the way he challenged me in rounds as we reviewed case histories, exam findings, blood panels, radiographs, ultrasounds, and treatment plans.Thank you to all of the doctors who also taught me this past month; Dr. Loper, Dr. Ridgeway, Dr. Seto, Dr. Yamamoto, Dr. Lin Dr. Adam, Dr. Brewer, and Dr. Reed as well. Each doctor was patient and supportive as they let me be a part of their daily cases even with their very busy schedules. They all answered my questions thoughtfully and have shown me ways to enhance my clinical thinking.Thank you to all of the LBAH staff, receptionists, caretakers, and nurses alike, whose warm acceptance and kind support made me feel so welcome and part of the team (especially when I bring in Krispy Kreme doughnuts to boot !).I learned so much about working with people, and appreciate clients' willingness to help me learn on my way to becoming a veterinarian. Thank you to the community for all the constructive feedback on my LBAH Facebook Daily Extern Diary posts, it is much appreciated !Hope to see you all again soon, with my freshly minted California veterinary medical license and doctor of veterinary medicine (DVM) diploma, as I plan to stick close to this south bay community.This is me, Kyle, and Mrs. Gosling, my last client. I hope to go to Africa with her when Dr. P goes back in 2025 (are you reading this Dr. P)?I look forward to what the new year will bring, and hope everyone has a great rest of this one ! ... See MoreSee Less
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3 months ago

Long Beach Animal Hospital
Extern Daily Diary Day # 19We are always looking for ways to decrease the medication we give our patients while addressing their problems. One of the modalities we have used for decades to treat arthritis in animals that accomplishes this goal is called Veterinary Neuronal Adjustment (also called VNA or VOM).VNA is a great part of multimodal pain management strategies that can help reduce a patient's drug therapy requirements.Our patient today has chronic arthritis (osteoarthritis), and had become acutely constipated and barking (vocalizing) much more than normal. We took an x-ray to screen for any other apparent painful GI issues, such as a foreign body, and confirmed his colon was constipated. His VNA procedure had the added benefit of helping him defecate his constipated fecal material as well as pain management for his long-standing arthritis. You can learn much about this at our web link, including videos of actual treatments:lbah.com/vna-veterinary-neuronal-adjustment/Tomorrow is my last day at LBAH for my externship- 😢 ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Day # 18Today I was able to scrub in with Dr. RL’s spay procedure in our surgery suite. There are a few compelling reasons to spay our female pets, first and foremost is to reduce the chance of breast cancer (mammary chain tumors) developing later in life. In fact the earlier a patient is spayed (ie prior to her first heat) there is a significantly better chance she won’t develop breast cancer. We typically recommend our friends be of at least 6 months of age prior to spaying and some large breed dogs may be a little older to support their required rapid bone growth.. More about the specifics behind spay procedures & the benefits can be found here:lbah.com/canine/spay-canine/Additional benefits behind spaying include, prevention of a canine’s heat cycle and or false pregnancy issues, prevents conception and canines from going into “heat”, and is the best (and sometimes only) treatment for when the ovaries or uterus has a severe infection (pyometra). Thank you to the kind client who sought me out today in the clinic after her pet’s exam. Her feedback that these posts were helpful in her career counseling role, since they highlight aspects of what the day to day being a veterinary student can look like, was heartening to hear ! I am always happy to learn that these posts are benefiting our local community in a myriad of positive ways ! ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Day # 18Today I was able to scrub in with Dr. RL’s spay procedure in our surgery suite. There are a few compelling reasons to spay our female pets, first and foremost is to reduce the chance of breast cancer (mammary chain tumors) developing later in life. In fact the earlier a patient is spayed (ie prior to her first heat) there is a significantly better chance she won’t develop breast cancer. We typically recommend our friends be of at least 6 months of age prior to spaying and some large breed dogs may be a little older to support their required rapid bone growth.. More about the specifics behind spay procedures & the benefits can be found here:lbah.com/canine/spay-canine/Additional benefits behind spaying include, prevention of a canine’s heat cycle and or false pregnancy issues, prevents conception and canines from going into “heat”, and is the best (and sometimes only) treatment for when the ovaries or uterus has a severe infection (pyometra). Thank you to the kind client who sought me out today in the clinic after her pet’s exam. Her feedback that these posts were helpful in her career counseling role, since they highlight aspects of what the day to day being a veterinary student can look like, was heartening to hear ! I am always happy to learn that these posts are benefiting our local community in a myriad of positive ways ! ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Day # 18Today I was able to scrub in with Dr. RL’s spay procedure in our surgery suite. There are a few compelling reasons to spay our female pets, first and foremost is to reduce the chance of breast cancer (mammary chain tumors) developing later in life. In fact the earlier a patient is spayed (ie prior to her first heat) there is a significantly better chance she won’t develop breast cancer. We typically recommend our friends be of at least 6 months of age prior to spaying and some large breed dogs may be a little older to support their required rapid bone growth.. More about the specifics behind spay procedures & the benefits can be found here:lbah.com/canine/spay-canine/Additional benefits behind spaying include, prevention of a canine’s heat cycle and or false pregnancy issues, prevents conception and canines from going into “heat”, and is the best (and sometimes only) treatment for when the ovaries or uterus has a severe infection (pyometra). Thank you to the kind client who sought me out today in the clinic after her pet’s exam. Her feedback that these posts were helpful in her career counseling role, since they highlight aspects of what the day to day being a veterinary student can look like, was heartening to hear ! I am always happy to learn that these posts are benefiting our local community in a myriad of positive ways ! ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Day #17Rabbits are a popular pet, and one I am quite fond of. They get many problems unfortunately, so it behooves you to read the Rabbit Diseases section of our website:lbah.com/rabbit-diseases/Today we saw a rabbit that needed to have her tear ducts (nasolacrimal duct) flushed. When rabbits experience inflammation or blockage of this duct their normal tears that keep their eyes lubricated, then build up and spill over the eyelids. This constant moisture on their eyelids and face can cause skin irritation, inflammation, hair loss and make the skin susceptible to infections. Factors that can cause inflammation or blockage of the nasolacrimal duct include anything that can cause a “sniffles” flare up (bacterial eye infections, allergies, upper respiratory disease, sinus disease) or sometimes a rotten tooth or “hay poke” caused swollen abscess within the mouth can block or clog this passage as well. Additionally recurrent infections, chronic inflammation and aging can cause persistent narrowing (stenosis) of these ducts.To help keep our fluffy friends comfortable and support draining their tears through the nose, we can perform routine tear duct flushing. This is done by gently visualizing the duct opening within the lower eyelid at the corner of the eye (commissure) closest to the nose, and with a soft, thin catheter, sterile saline in a syringe is flushed through ideally rinsing out any built up blockage as well. Typically our patients will sneeze or wiggle their noses as fluid drains through, so it can be fairly obvious if flushing is patent, that is if the amount of saline isn’t already apparent. ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary- Day #2Busy day today with several surgeries and ultrasounds. I will go over one of the ultrasound cases.It was an elderly dog that was not eating well and was lethargic. The exam on this dog revealed a possible anemia, that was confirmed on blood panel. This is consistent with the lethargy and poor appetite. Since anemia is not a disease, but a sign of a disease, an abdominal ultrasound was performed to help determine the cause of the anemia. The ultrasound revealed blood in the abdomen (called hemoabdomen) and problems with the liver and spleen. This is consistent with cancer, a probable cause of the anemia.In the picture I have a cute paw on my shoulder while I learn from our radiologist that is doing the ultrasound.To learn more about ultrasound and cancer here are two links from our web site:lbah.com/ultrasound/lbah.com/feline/cancer/ ... See MoreSee Less
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Extern Daily Diary Day #17Rabbits are a popular pet, and one I am quite fond of. They get many problems unfortunately, so it behooves you to read the Rabbit Diseases section of our website:lbah.com/rabbit-diseases/Today we saw a rabbit that needed to have her tear ducts (nasolacrimal duct) flushed. When rabbits experience inflammation or blockage of this duct their normal tears that keep their eyes lubricated, then build up and spill over the eyelids. This constant moisture on their eyelids and face can cause skin irritation, inflammation, hair loss and make the skin susceptible to infections. Factors that can cause inflammation or blockage of the nasolacrimal duct include anything that can cause a “sniffles” flare up (bacterial eye infections, allergies, upper respiratory disease, sinus disease) or sometimes a rotten tooth or “hay poke” caused swollen abscess within the mouth can block or clog this passage as well. Additionally recurrent infections, chronic inflammation and aging can cause persistent narrowing (stenosis) of these ducts.To help keep our fluffy friends comfortable and support draining their tears through the nose, we can perform routine tear duct flushing. This is done by gently visualizing the duct opening within the lower eyelid at the corner of the eye (commissure) closest to the nose, and with a soft, thin catheter, sterile saline in a syringe is flushed through ideally rinsing out any built up blockage as well. Typically our patients will sneeze or wiggle their noses as fluid drains through, so it can be fairly obvious if flushing is patent, that is if the amount of saline isn’t already apparent. ... See MoreSee Less
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