My Vet Horror Story from 2005

[plax]

Tony, I agree with you that the vet *should have* known, but again, I'm not going back on my thoughts that if this vet was not accustomed to seeing microchips in parrots, he probably wasn't thinking it *WAS* a microchip at first.

Even if microchipping parrots has been used for over a decade in parrots does not mean that they are frequently used in pet birds. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you made a pole on several forums about whether or not our pet parrots are microchipped, and the majority of the owners came back saying that their birds are not microchipped. There are hundreds, if not thousands of birds lost every year, and many of these birds would *probably* find their way back home *IF* they were microchipped... but the majority of them aren't. I've even asked one person who works at a rescue(?) that often takes in found birds, and the person said that they scan every single found bird that comes in, but none of them had microchips.

Monica, it DOESN'T MATTER! An ID chip x-ray signature is an ID chip x-ray signature, any way you care to slice it! Since this particular vet is ABVP certified (not for avians, but still) and since he had been in practice for 25 years, and since he himself implants Avid micro ID chips and thus possesses and utilizes the necessary equipment, he should have recognized the blip signature (if only from seeing it on the x-ray images of other animals such as dogs and cats). That's not an unreasonable thing to expect. If a vet of his professed stature doesn't recognize a chip blip and this fact thus precludes him from posing the critical question of whether or not a pet has one to said pet's owner during an urgent assessment session, in my view he is incompetent. I would not want him as my vet, period. Nor would I recommend him to others - in fact I would warn against him!

 

[plax]

Wow, sounds like an absolute living nightmare! I've had to have my chattering put under anesthesia in order to remove an egg - she was egg bound. This was to insure that the egg be removed whole, if it got broken inside her, it would have been horrible. But still, my husband and I were in the waiting area as nervous and worried as can be. She survived fine and 4 days later was attempting to lay another egg. Took her immediately to the vet and they were able to remove that egg without putting her under anesthesia. (She was 9 yrs old then and we'd always thought she was a male)

I might have missed it in your narrative, but what became of the snap piece? Was it determined that Zaf didn't ingest it after all?

I forgot to mention it, but I later found the snap piece on the floor hidden behind a cage leg wheel.

 

[Thingamagigs]

The very first thing any new vet I have attended has asked was "Is your pet microchipped?" Its on the paperwork!

You are absolutely right, it should have been the first thing that occurred to an avian vet who microchips birds himself. What a horrific turn of events, I am so sorry you had to endure that AND then to have the supposed professional have a go at you over it!

If you took your car to a mechanic, you would expect him to know all the bits and possible add ons that are, or could be present in your car.
If you took your computer to a tech you would expect him to know what does what and where it is placed.

I find people, including medical professionals themselves... excuse medical professionals far too quickly! They are responsible for lives... yet they mostly go unquestioned and develop an unrivaled arrogance.
But people are more likely to have a go at their mechanic for making a mistake. Rarely do you see someone actually questioning a medical "professional". I say bravo for standing up for yourself and Zaf! I would feel absolutely fuming as well, you were manipulated into unnecessary procedures. But few people have the nads to give them a piece of their mind.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

That is so scary! I'm always a little nervous about taking Rosie to a vet. So far I really like Rosie's vet, she only see's birds and they also board birds that have gone through there health check. I just just don't know them well and gave to trust there yelp reviews. They are open on Saturday, and told me to call them first incase of a emergency on sundays and if someone is there I can still bring in Rosie. They also don't send me out of the room(I assume they would for X-Rays). I was also happy that she called in a second assistant when cutting Rosie's open bands off and were very gentle.

 

[BillsBirds]

Unbelieveable! Yet, very believable. My vet always asks if birds, or other animals, are microchipped in first initial questions. He should have known. But, in tense situations, everyone acts faster than they might think. When I bring my microchipped rescues to the vet, I make a point of pointing out that they are chipped right away. A sad story, but, thankfully, a good ending, Zaf is fine!

 

[plax]

Unbelieveable! Yet, very believable. My vet always asks if birds, or other animals, are microchipped in first initial questions. He should have known. But, in tense situations, everyone acts faster than they might think. When I bring my microchipped rescues to the vet, I make a point of pointing out that they are chipped right away. A sad story, but, thankfully, a good ending, Zaf is fine!

Thank you.

This vet neither had a question on his admission form about whether my animal were microchipped, nor did he personally ask me (until the very end, well after the anesthetization and crop flush). And I was right near him in the procedure room throughout the ordeal. The fact that on his business cards he lists all of the animal types he specializes in immediately under his deceptive statement about being ABVP certified - not mentioning in which area(s) - would lead one to conclude that he should know enough to ascertain if a Hyacinth were microchipped. At least I would think so.

And, yes. Zaf is fine and that's all that really matters at this point. But hopefully this incident may serve as a warning to folks that they should try and be as prepared and clear-headed as possible during times of medical urgency for their pets! I admit that I was overwhelmed and terrified for Zaf. And that might have resulted in absolute devastation . We are so very fortunate that it did not!!!

 

[goalerjones]

I have to say a few things after reading most of this. One, Plax, I am happy your baby is safe. Two, medical emergencies bring out the worst whether it be a person or a pet. Thirdly, medical professionals rely heavily on the most current available info to make their decisions.

A caretakers current info will steer them in an emergency rather than long term histories. You came in as sure as you could, of the ingested material. The vet followed that course of action first. Then, after it became clear the material was not in the crop, the need arose to reinvestigate all other possibilities.

And lastly, memory is drastically affected during times of high stress. Your memory of the event and the specific things said at such a time, unless you wrote it down at the time or taped the dialogue, and the memory of the Dr will tell vastly different sides to the same event.

I sincerely hope you can put this bad time in your life behind you and be able to find some lasting peace.

 

[sonja]

Oh my, what an ordeal! I know this story will stick with me and I'll mention microchips every time, whether I'm asked or not.

The vet mentions the 3 hours he "lost" -- did all of this take 3 hours??

 

[plax]

medical professionals rely heavily on the most current available info to make their decisions.

That's not only a blanket statement, it's as well inaccurate. Every medical professional does not keep apprised of current developments in all areas they are relied upon to serve. If this particular vet would have been on top of his game he'd have employed a bit of common sense concerning the information that was in fact available to him - such as the tell-tale appearance of an Avid ID chip on an x-ray image. Even I was aware of the appearance signature of an ID chip on an x-ray image. I'd previously read about the very subject. Unfortunately during this crisis I wasn't able to access said awareness because of the severe stress I was feeling. But that in no way excuses the vet! It's the responsibility of an emergency medical professional to consider such things.

And there actually is a great deal of incompetence among medical professionals. People are misdiagnosed every day by physicians who guess incorrectly, rendering inaccurate soft diagnoses rather than ordering conclusive tests. Some of this is due to for-profit medical insurance coverage limitations, while the rest can be attributed to laziness, arrogance, and mere lack of attentiveness among physicians. To dismiss this reality would be naive... because it's certainly part of our world!

A caretakers current info will steer them in an emergency rather than long term histories.

Ideally, yes. They should employ a measure of common sense coupled with state of the art protocol. But sadly that's not what happens in some cases... it certainly wasn't in this one, for example.

You came in as sure as you could, of the ingested material.

No, I was not sure Zaf had ingested the part. But I was absolutely worried he might have. No one in my position could have known with certainty one way or the other. As such, throughout the ordeal I maintained some degree of doubt that ingestion had actually occurred. It was one of those "is there a bullet in the chamber or not?" scenarios. And that was my purpose in bringing him to the vet - to determine whether or not he'd actually ingested the object. And it was the vet's responsibility to fulfill that obligation with as little risk to Zaf as possible.

The vet followed that course of action first. Then, after it became clear the material was not in the crop, the need arose to reinvestigate all other possibilities.

Quite simply, you're wrong! The vet followed an entirely unnecessary course of action, especially considering that no one knew for certain whether Zaf had ingested the object. Identifying the chip blip pattern would have concluded the matter without further risk.

And lastly, memory is drastically affected during times of high stress. Your memory of the event and the specific things said at such a time, unless you wrote it down at the time or taped the dialogue, and the memory of the Dr will tell vastly different sides to the same event.

My account of events is accurate. Since the vet was trying to protect himself and justify his charges, he had reason to modify his account of what took place. To blindly trust an individual because he or she is a "veterinarian" or other "medical professional" is simply ignorant.

 

[plax]

Oh my, what an ordeal! I know this story will stick with me and I'll mention microchips every time, whether I'm asked or not.

The vet mentions the 3 hours he "lost" -- did all of this take 3 hours??

Yes, it was about 3 hours and some change.

 

[plax]

I have to say a few things after reading most of this. One, Plax, I am happy your baby is safe. Two, medical emergencies bring out the worst whether it be a person or a pet. Thirdly, medical professionals rely heavily on the most current available info to make their decisions.

A caretakers current info will steer them in an emergency rather than long term histories. You came in as sure as you could, of the ingested material. The vet followed that course of action first. Then, after it became clear the material was not in the crop, the need arose to reinvestigate all other possibilities.

And lastly, memory is drastically affected during times of high stress. Your memory of the event and the specific things said at such a time, unless you wrote it down at the time or taped the dialogue, and the memory of the Dr will tell vastly different sides to the same event.

I sincerely hope you can put this bad time in your life behind you and be able to find some lasting peace.

I have to agree. A medical diagnosis by any healthcare professional is assisted or hindered by the information the patient or caretaker provides. Situations such as this are why I have set up my fids at the emergency vet. I took them in on a non-emergency visit just so I could make sure they had all the info they would in an emergency when I was scatterbrained and not necessarily rational. We, as the guardians, have a personal responsibility to be prepared for these eventualities. There are two sides to every story, and we are hearing just one to the detriment of a professional's reputation.

You're hearing both sides of the story. I posted the vet's account verbatim! While I agree with you that it's a very wise move to set up preliminaries for pet emergencies, the rest of what you are saying tends to excuse clear incompetence on the vet's part.

 

[wenz2712]

It is only incompetence in your mind. Otherwise, in the 7 years since this incident youy would have filed legal action and prevailed. You only present the resposes to your accusations. By the tone of your first communication, which was combative to say the least, you set the tone for the responses. You steadfastly refuse to acknowledge or accept any form of responsibility for your part in all of this. I have to accept you at your word that the vet's responses are verbatim, since there is no way to verify it. My suggestion would be that after seven years, either let it go or file action with the state goiverning board. If you are unwilling to do either and givethe Dr. a fair and impartial hearing, then it is you that has the problem and you need to stop tarnishing someone's reputation with unfounded accusations. I would encourage all forum members to independently check the qualifications of thei veterinarians, accreditations, and histories with the state boards. If you feel there has been malpractice or malfeasance, consult the state board and an attorney

I think you are missing the point to this thread!

I dont think you will find that plax is still persuing this after all these years... he is merely sharing his story with us, which is what this forum is all about

 

[plax]

It is only incompetence in your mind. Otherwise, in the 7 years since this incident youy would have filed legal action and prevailed. You only present the resposes to your accusations. By the tone of your first communication, which was combative to say the least, you set the tone for the responses. You steadfastly refuse to acknowledge or accept any form of responsibility for your part in all of this. I have to accept you at your word that the vet's responses are verbatim, since there is no way to verify it. My suggestion would be that after seven years, either let it go or file action with the state goiverning board. If you are unwilling to do either and givethe Dr. a fair and impartial hearing, then it is you that has the problem and you need to stop tarnishing someone's reputation with unfounded accusations. I would encourage all forum members to independently check the qualifications of thei veterinarians, accreditations, and histories with the state boards. If you feel there has been malpractice or malfeasance, consult the state board and an attorney

To begin with it's not your matter to verify. You didn't even have to read my account, nor did I have to post it. I chose to post it because it's something that was very impactful in my life, and because people are too frequently ramrodded by medical professionals whose primary concern is not their patients, but their profits.

Filing an action would have been additional unnecessary stress for everyone involved, because my bird is fine. So your reasoning is flawed in that regard as well.

And if you would have paid attention to the material I posted, you would have noticed that I prefaced it by stating that I have changed or otherwise concealed all of the names and locations in the text. So no one's reputation has been "tarnished".

Moreover, it matters not what you think. Who are you to be the ultimate standard of judgment in matters like this anyway? You're obviously some one who's prone to blindly trust those with titles or certificates. Sadly, some of those who follow your lead may end up victims themselves.

This thread was not intended to start a debate with someone like you who feels they know it all and is charged to argue about such things. This thread was solely intended to share the plight of my dear Macaw and myself with forum members, and to perhaps warn what can possibly occur.

Your antagonism is not appreciated

 

[SandyBee]

WOW

Thanks Plax for posting this, what an ordeal to go through.
Just shows that we as parronts can never be too careful and not all vets are created equal.
Hopefully we can all take away a piece of this story for our future benefits.
Glad you now have a vet you trust nearby.!

 

[HappyHummingbird]

Plax, So I didn't know birds got microchipped! How much does something like this cost? Is it extremely painful for the birds to have it done?

 

[MeganMango]

I agree the vet messed up pretty bad when reading the X-ray, but they are people, and sometimes they mess up. I can see how in an emergency situation a microchip could confuse someone and make them assume its a foreign body if thats what the bird is there for. That said, the vet should at least acknowledge that he made a mistake and apologize. It offends me that he blames you for his blunder, its a sign of a very arrogant individual and poor character indeed. I would also like to give you my first hand experience working in radiology with a variety of animals. All animals are absolutely mortified by this no matter how you do it. I dont know why, but its very hard to get an unsedated animal to lie still for radiographs. They tolerate ultrasound much better. I agree that sedating a bird for this seems like overkill, but a lot of patience is required. Ive seen a dog that can barely move jump up and grab a techs arm seemingly out of no-where. They really hate getting X-rays. We always had at least two people holding our patients (regardless of size) and it still took a long time to get good images. Legally the vet is not allowed to ask you to help because it is a risk to your health to be exposed to the radiation. I agree the guy is a total jacka$$ but I think a lot of vets would have a hard time getting X rays on a bird.

 

[plax]

Plax, So I didn't know birds got microchipped! How much does something like this cost? Is it extremely painful for the birds to have it done?

Hi Carolyn... The RFID chips are implanted through injection via a large needle. The bird should not require anesthetization. I think the cost for implantation is usually in the range of $25 to $50 (it could be slightly higher at some locations). Also, an additional $20 fee is required for registration of the chip's number. Lastly, I would recommend only allowing a qualified avian vet to microchip your bird.

Here's one link about microchipping:

Should you microchip your bird? - ParrotChronicles.com Feature Story

 

[plax]

I agree the vet messed up pretty bad when reading the X-ray, but they are people, and sometimes they mess up. I can see how in an emergency situation a microchip could confuse someone and make them assume its a foreign body if thats what the bird is there for. That said, the vet should at least acknowledge that he made a mistake and apologize. It offends me that he blames you for his blunder, its a sign of a very arrogant individual and poor character indeed. I would also like to give you my first hand experience working in radiology with a variety of animals. All animals are absolutely mortified by this no matter how you do it. I dont know why, but its very hard to get an unsedated animal to lie still for radiographs. They tolerate ultrasound much better. I agree that sedating a bird for this seems like overkill, but a lot of patience is required. Ive seen a dog that can barely move jump up and grab a techs arm seemingly out of no-where. They really hate getting X-rays. We always had at least two people holding our patients (regardless of size) and it still took a long time to get good images. Legally the vet is not allowed to ask you to help because it is a risk to your health to be exposed to the radiation. I agree the guy is a total jacka$$ but I think a lot of vets would have a hard time getting X rays on a bird.

Actually, if you'll browse back and re-read the first part of my account you'll see that I explained they were unable to restrain Zaf for the initial radiograph exposures prior to anesthetization. But I as well explained how I'd stepped in at that point, put on the protective garments, and successfully got Zaf to lay on his back for the imaging. And Zaf did it for me without issue - partly because he trusts me, and partly because the vet tech had no clue how to handle him. The vet seemed more concerned in letting me know that if Zaf bit through the gloves I would be charged for replacing them than in anything else.

The reason they anesthetized Zaf was twofold: 1) to perform the crop irrigation, and 2) to facilitate guidance of the crop evacuation process with subsequent radiographs. However, if not for the crop irrigation/evacuation procedure I could have easily positioned Zaf for the subsequent x-ray exposures.

 

[Kiwibird]

While this was obviously very distressing for you, it happened almost a decade ago, and it's time to move on. I very seriously doubt Zaf remembers this experience or has had any lingering mental issues from it. All (even the most well loved) parrots encounter a traumatic event or 2 in their lives, and they are pretty resilient and forgiving creatures who move on with their lives fine from those events. As for the vet, it sounds like he made a mistake and responded unprofessionally, but your bird is alive and you never have to visit this vet again. Really, as long as Zaf is happy, loved and well cared for now, that's all that matters.

 

[plax]

While this was obviously very distressing for you, it happened almost a decade ago, and it's time to move on. I very seriously doubt Zaf remembers this experience or has had any lingering mental issues from it. All (even the most well loved) parrots encounter a traumatic event or 2 in their lives, and they are pretty resilient and forgiving creatures who move on with their lives fine from those events. As for the vet, it sounds like he made a mistake and responded unprofessionally, but your bird is alive and you never have to visit this vet again. Really, as long as Zaf is happy, loved and well cared for now, that's all that matters.

I have moved on. But the experience is not something I'll ever forget and I felt it was worth sharing.