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Recently, Tina Marconi at VetTech.Org published an article about 25 amazing breakthroughs in veterinary medicine. If you haven’t already seen the article, it is worth a look.
Most Important Advances in Veterinary Medicine in the Last 10 Years
Among the top advances listed are the following:
- Stem cell therapy. I agree with this one completely. While stem cell therapy is a relatively new procedure in the dog (and the cat), it has been used in horses for a bit longer. The advantages are hard to ignore and include being able to harvest stem cells from fat tissue (versus embryonic stem cells so there is no ethical debate!), process them and give them back to the same animal. This means there is no risk of rejection as there is with other types of implantation or transplant procedures and the side effects in terms of safety are minimal. The down-side to stem cell therapy is the cost.
- Cancer treatments, including a new vaccine against melanoma (a specific type of cancer) and new anti-cancer drugs, most notably Palladia. Palladia is labeled for use in treating mast cell tumors but is being used off-label to treat other types of cancer as well. In all likelihood, there will probably be more anti-cancer drugs that become available in the not-too-far distant future as well. These products, together with a new understanding of the needs of cancer patients, are making treatment of some forms of cancer much more attainable and they are truly an exciting development.
- Lapascopy, while still not available in all clinics, is becoming increasingly available and is being used for everything from exploratory types of surgery to routine surgical procedures such as spays.
- Laser surgery also is becoming increasingly available and, while laser surgery is well-suited to many if not most types of surgical procedures, there are specific instances where it is especially valuable.
- Other areas mentioned include the addition of acupuncture and laser therapy to the arsenal of options available for pets as well as the availability of drugs such as ketoprofen. While these modalities all have their advantages and disadvantages, they all have a place in veterinary medicine and are a welcome addition, especially in the area of pain relief.
Other Breakthroughs in Pet Care
There are a lot of breakthroughs listed in the article and I would recommend that you take a look at the article yourself to learn more.
A few other areas that I think are worth mentioning include the “breed test”. I am not personally a big fan of this test. At this time, I am simply not convinced of its accuracy in being able to determine the exact breed makeup of many dogs.
Another “breakthrough” listed that I find a bit troubling is the addition of “dog whispering.” There have been tremendous strides made in understanding the psychology of dogs and dog behavior. And I think these advances have lead to to some very positive advances in the field of dog training. However, for me, the term “dog whisperer” conjures up visions of the television series, book collection and media personality (Cesar Milan) of the same name. Unfortunately, I do not believe these products represent a positive change in pet care. In fact, rather the opposite! So, I would prefer to think of the breakthrough in this field as that of an advancement in the understanding of dog behavior rather than terming it “dog whispering.”
Still, overall, I like the VetTech.Org post and I think it very clearly highlights that there has been a great deal of improvement in many aspects of veterinary medicine and pet care.
Photo Courtesy of US Army Africa/Flickr.com
About Lorie Huston, DVM
Lorie Huston is a veterinarian, pet health and pet care expert, professional writer, blogger, social media and blogging consultant, and SEO strategist.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lorie, I think that “true” dog whispering is an amazing thing. Of course what Cesar Milan does has nothing to do with that. In fact, I think BAT is much closer to dog whispering than anything else. To me, dog whispering is/or should be an equivalent to The Horse Whisperer movie. Then it is a great tool and it makes perfect sense to use it.
The main point here is, whispering is indeed whispering … not shouting!
I think some people have natural ability to do that, whether they give it a name or not. Jasmine’s vet does. Did I say how much we love him?
I guess it’s just a matter of semantics, Jana. But I do think that a lot of people equate the term “dog whispering” with Cesar Milan, especially with all the publicity he receives. That’s why I would prefer to call it something different
I haven’t seen The Horse Whisperer nor have I read the book. So I can’t comment on that
It is interesting to see where progress is being made.
Yes, progress has been made in so many areas. It is interesting to look back and see how many different areas have been impacted.