Mystery Solved UNBELIEVABLE

[bird-brain]

First I want to thank all of you for your kind words and the support you have offered me since the death of my lil Tango. I know i have been a basket case. But something was just needling at me that I could not put my finger on. I am a Clinical Research Associate by trade and so lab values and cell morphology MATTERS to me. There were ,some things that were inconsistent, things that should have been reported that weren't etc. They had not been able to do a WBC on him because of the condition of the blood sample which made me wonder if the crit count was even correct. A bird with a crit of 22 should not have been able to stand let alone fly around a room so it just didn't jive. Soooooooooo, I had a copy of Tango's labs and necropsy results faxed to me.

The only real finding was "abundant hemorrhage in the trachea and crop". There was a 3.5 cm blood clot in the ventral aspect of the neck adjacent to the area of the lab draw. The pathologist hypothesized that the lab draw itself caused the hemorrhage.

Now guys, I am a reasonable person. I know that lab draws on tiny birds is a dangerous procedure that sometimes does not go well. It is heart breaking to think that Tango likely had the same infection that Cabo is being treated for but did not survive the trauma of the lab draw. I hate that, but I could have lived with it as one of those things that just happens.

What has kept me up at night was concern of some bigger enemy lurking unseen. A lead or zinc source, or other toxin or viral process that was going to rear its head again in another of my fids. Instead I find out that it was likely human error that caused Tango's death and rather than be honest, my vet chose to mislead me. I was only told of "abundant hemorrhage in the calvarium" and that it was possibly due to trauma. This was the initial red flag to me as trauma would have likely caused meningeal hemorrhage as well and that it was only seen in the calvarium is typical post mortem artifact and would probably not have been attributed to trauma in the report (if the pathologist knows their stuff). The report was read to me incorrectly and I can think of no reason to do this other than to hide the fact that the bird exanguinated from his lab draw. The vet kept referencing him flying into a cabinet, it's in his medical record. He NEVER flew into a cabinet door! He couldn't fly. So we have even invented the trauma that caused this massive hemorrhage.

Okay, so wierdly, I am oddly grateful that I can stop looking for the monster under the bed. And other than that, I am just not really sure how I should handle this situation with the vet and the faked necropsy report. I am just in shock that the vet has been this dishonest and more than a little dissapointed that I now have to drive to Atlanta for all my avian vet needs..................

Seriously, would you guys address this further or just not return to this vet?

[OOwl]

That is so sad to be betrayed by your vet. I think I would address it with the vet, and based on his response plan my next move. Vets/Vet Techs make mistakes (lab draws on tiny birds are difficult to perform properly on a good day!) but making your customer feel guilty that it was something they had control over was just inhumane. You have every right to be upset and have every right to expect answers from your vet. Good luck!

[Pips mom]

After reading all of this, I have made up my mind on one thing....I am NOT going to let any vet draw blood on my smaller birds this way.....with Pip the vet got blood from his toe nail.....yes, his little foot was sore and he was holding it up sometimes for almost a week, but at least he's still here! If vets can get blood from the nail this way, then why is there the need to draw blood in a way that can put a small bird at risk??
If it was me, I'd probably not want to go back to this vet, mostly because they were dishonest. I know....it's hard when you have few vets to chose from and have to travel far when vets close to you are not reliable. If you have a bird with an illness, do you really want to have a vet who is so far away? where time might be what decides if your bird lives or dies? so closeness does have it's advantages. It's a tough spot, I know. I've been all over with Pip too, and have dealt with the negative things about going to the vet! I've never really had any issues though with the vets themselves that I've been to, so I've been lucky. I keep all my options open when it comes to vets.....make sure I have all the ones I have been to handy in case of emergency, so if one can't see one of my birds in an emergency, the other may be able to. My favorite vet of all is the one that I take Ivy to for her nails and beak, but she is only working right now part time one or two days a week because she wants to stay home with her young children. I can't wait for the day when they grow up and she comes back full time!!
I'm so sorry for what you've been through with Tango, but I'm glad that you are able to find some answers. Having birds is so tough when it comes to illness, vets and finding answers why.

[thebubbleking]

The worst thing besides the obvious is 98 percent of people dont have your knowlage and would have never known any better...who knows what else hes been dishonest about i would file a complaint with the better business beuro so its on his record!

[linda040899]

I've had many blood draws done on various birds in my breeding career but none have been done via jugular vein on any bird smaller than a Cockatiel. Tiels have longer necks and positioning the needle is much easier. When Miracle needed to have blood taken for tests, my vet used veins in her under wing area. Yes, there are risks and the vet let you know that he would not treat without blood for testing. I've spun that same risk wheel and been on the losing end, too.

However, to lie and cover up what happened as she did is inexcusable. After something like that, there's no way I could ever trust this vet again, not even to clip my birds nails. There has to be a group that oversees the quality of care done by vets and that's who should get the complaint. You got a copy of the lab reports and necropsy results, you can prove what you are saying.

[bird-brain]

One thing I want to make clear is that vets save lives. Many more times than not, our ill fids would not make it without a vet's attention. And I seriously want to point out that I in no way want this experience to detour anyone's use of an avian vet for your fids.

Jugular draws on tiny birds can be dangerous. The needle is beveled and too much wiggling around can sever the vein. It does happen, it doesn't happen often and I honestly would have been graciously understanding if I had simply been told that the most likely cause was trauma from the draw. The botched draw doesn't excuse me from blame. It was my decision to proceed with the labs. I am just at a loss as to why any vet would be so deceitful. She seriously told me that the report said that the bruising etc was consistent with a normal blood draw.

Also, as Jeremy pointed out, my back ground made me ask questions. One of the reasons I am giving all of these details is so that maybe someone else doesn't have a repeat episode of this type. There are a lot of morals to this story but the number one for me right now is that venous blood draws on already compromised tiny birds is perhaps not the safest choice. I will say that the vet REFUSED to treat without labs and Cabo had a WBC of 15000 so he needed treatment. It is a good topic for discussion as we all have fids who get ill.

[lyndak]

I would call him on it. I'm actually quite disgusted that a (supposed) professional would do this. Isn't there a hypocratic vet oath that has to be taken? There must be a vet org or professional association this guy belongs to? Lodge a complaint with them.

I would never ever ever trust him again.

truly appalling

[bbslovie]

That's so sad. I wouldn't trust her either. This makes me sooo angry! I would let her know that you've examined the report and need answers due to inconsistencies in the report. I would do this in person and I wouldn't make an appt. I'd just go by and see if she had some time to talk. Good luck with whatever decision you make.

((((hugs))))


Barb :)

[Enko_chan]

There has to be a legality issue with falsifying medical records, even if the patient is non-human. Adding an incident that did not happen to cover up an error to mislead the family of a patient is very, very wrong, and I am willing to bet an offense that is fire-able if not worth losing ones license over. At the very, very least it is positively unconscionable! It was a decision made by both you and the vet to do the jugular blood draw, and if it went wrong, the vet should have told you right away. I am wondering if this vet was not skeptical to treat another of your birds without all of the knowledge right up front because of what happened. Either way, I would absolutely file a complaint with the AVA and with the company and/or location that this vet works for. What was done to you is not right, put you through many sleepless nights and it put your other birds in danger. The people and birds this vet is treating have a right to the truth and they are obviously not receiving it.


Hugs. Whatever you decide, you have my support. I'm so glad that you have, at least, some peace of mind.

[wustaz]

to me it sounds like this should be reported to their college. what about lodging a formal complaint.