This one’s for my fellow toilers in this profession.
One of the great things about not owning a practice is that I don’t have to worry about a lot of the things an owner would. Payroll, for example. Sick technicians. FMLA. Leases. That sort of thing.
One of the bummers about not owning a practice makes itself apparent whenever I find myself at a continuing education conference, walking through booths of shiny bright tools and pieces of equipment I can’t buy. The sales rep turns to me with shiny teeth, grinning “HELLOOOO!” before placing some amazing doohickey or another into my hand, only to snatch it away just as quickly when they realize I have no buying power.
I am in love with video otoscopes. It’s like the ipad of the veterinary world. Do you NEED one? No. Do you want one? Desperately.
Ear infections are the yeasty bread and butter of many practices. Dogs and cats, unlike people, have a nice 90 degree angle in their ear canals, and in some cases a nice floppy flap of pinna sitting on top of the opening, making them veritable wonderlands for yeast and bacteria.
I know what a normal ear canal looks like: pink and happy and clean.
I also know what a diseased ear canal looks like: kind of like one of those caves spelunkers flit about, dark and dank and mottled.
I can tell you this, that your dog’s ear looks like a bowl of baked beans, and maybe you will let me do an ear cleaning. Or perhaps you will say, “But I clean them myself,” and decline my offer to do a better job.
All I have is my otoscope and my word. But with video otoscopes- a little device you stick into the ear with a camera at the end- you would find yourself confronted with the incontrovertible evidence of your pet’s state.
IN YOUR FACE! (don’t click if icky ears freak you out.) Yes, that is what we are staring at when we tell you, we really need to get in there and fix those ears up.
Veterinarians in practices with a video otoscope report that client compliance increases by a large margin when they are able to show owners exactly what they are seeing when they look in those ears. I imagine, of you clicked on the link, you can understand why.
Come to mama. That thing of beauty brings a tear to my eye. Do you have ANY IDEA how much easier that would make it to grab foxtails?
Someday, if I work really hard, maybe I too can have one of those so I can show people up close and personal the face of Pseudomonas ulcer ears. A girl can dream. But in the meantime, when I zoom by the websites of those practices offering video otoscopy, a small part of me wants to ask if I can come by, just for an afternoon, and play with their otoscope.
I have springers and yup, those long ears are very prone to ear infections. My bundle of goodies from vet visits usually includes ear cleaner. Thanks for reminding me why it’s important to use the ear cleaner when I get home…
Laurel, celebrating the love of dogs at http://laurelhuntbooks.com
Bark Wag Love
oh man, that comment about ‘…your dogs ear looks like a bowl of baked beans…’ threw me off the edge on my morning coffee and cereal…
bleck
We have a ‘big’ video otoscope like you’re talking about but we don’t get the chance to use it very often – $$$$
However, what has really gotten us the ‘in your face!’ value was a much cheaper system with a cordless otoscope and small LCD screens mounted right in the exam rooms. The otoscope works with any screen so you can bring it in for any exam. It was significantly cheaper (around 4k I think) and definitely gets the point across. Also way easier to set up and use – just walk in, turn it on and stick it in the ear. Or mouth, or give a close up of that flea as it wriggles across the pet’s back – that’s my favorite one!!
~Sara
For my purposes, the little one would be juuuust fine. 🙂
Ooh, that does sound like a neat tool. When our big boy had both of his TPLO surgeries, we got to see live video of the damage inside the joints. It was very cool.
we have one, i haven’t had a chance to play with it yet…mostly just use the good ole fashion otoscope (but i really only look down the ears for foxtails and reasons for vestibular dz right now since i’m doing only ER work)
Do you find it’s helpful, even for you since the picture is blown up? It seems like you’d get a much better appreciation for the health of the eardrum.
ok, here’s what you do: Contact the rep, tell them you would like to try the instrument on a free trial basis (because they know once you start using it, you won’t want to give it up) then once everyone, including your boss, decides it’s a really handy gadget to have you say “oh, free trial is up, it has to go back. But we can keep it for only $xx!”
Then you boss writes the check….
Really, it could happen!
Good planning Susan! You are my kind of person!
Beauty, eh? These instruments are a beautiful thing and highly educational to the client who can stomach it–it really gets them thinking of the ear as a dermatologic condition and not just this scary cave on the side of their animal’s head that they prefer to ignore. My guess is that you will have a lot more compliance if you can do more demonstrations of disease and resolution. Keep on truckin’ Dr. V!
Oooh {shudder}, I can’t decide which one is worst, the Labrador Retriever with severe bilateral otitis, the Cocker Spaniel with chronic infections or the German Shepard with diseased canal lining and ruptured ear drum. Ok, I just looked again and the Labrador’s is definitely the ickiest. Definitely the Labrador. Thanks for the gross eye candy; I weirdly love this kind of thing.
Clients LOVE my Welch Allyn video otoscope. (And so do I!) I have a small, flat screen tv in each exam room and the video scope head attaches to it with a cable. It uses the regular Welch Allyn battery handle. It’s really fun when you can see the ear mites crawling around. Definitely helps with compliance, not only for doing in hosp. ear flushes, but also to impress on the client what they’ve got to do with the home treatments. And, they can see at the recheck how well they’ve done (or not). But the best part is just the “wow” factor! Clients are impressed that we are more high tech than their own doctor’s office. I use it on almost every exam I do, even if no ear problems are suspected.
Hi, Dr. V.
I can totally relate. I’m in the same situation. An associate veterinary with no buying power. And there are SO many goodies I’d love to have. The video otoscope is definitely on that list, plus a laser for surgery, and a laser for rehab, and a laparascope, and a SCA2000, and a digital radiography system, and……well, you get the picture…LOL
Very interesting post! Our Shar-pei has tight little ears and it’s a never ending battle to keep them clean – especially in humid weather. My vet does not have this handy gadget either, and I would LOVE to see inside Ty’s ears to know if all the cleaning I’m doing is getting that deep-down dirt. I do have a question – is it the yeast / infection that caused the ruptured ear drums in the photos?