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Old 07-30-2012, 12:47 PM   #1
acesmom79
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Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Posts: 76
Default Steps to take regarding a Vet misdiagnoses

I'm not going to get into the whole story again, but I'll briefly explain. My baby Ace, 4 yrs old passed away 7/19/12 due to eating a big hairball. We took him to the closest Vet we could find because he was vomiting and not able to stand up. The vet diagnosed him with a stomach virus. His white blood count was up. She next did an xray. She showed us xray and said here is his food, showing us an xray of his stomach. We explained he hadn't eaten in a few days although he was drinking fluids and holding down water. She acted like we were lying and didn't believe us about food situation. My husband said "you can feel his stomach it feels like something hard." She didn't even feel his stomach until my husband mentioned it. She said yeah, he could've eaten something, but we'll keep him here overnight with antibiotics and fluids. If that doesn't work we'll look into an obstruction.
The next day they called said Ace was doing worse and it must be an obstruction and he would need an ultrasound and they didn't have that equipment. We had to rush Ace to ER where they looked at Xray and felt his stomach and KNEW he had an obstruction. They didn't even need an ultrasound! Little Ace had surgery but passed away a few hours later.
My question is why did the first vet keep him there when an Xray showed obstruction? Looking back they should have said look "we're not sure what it is but if he hasn't eaten then there is something in his stomach. We're not sure becasue we son't have that good of equiptment to tell so take him to the ER where they can definatley tell you." Instead they kept him overnight and treated him for a stomach virus. I feel like they just tried to get money from us by misdiagnosing him. He stayed overnight and maybe if he had went sooner to ER he would've been stronger and survived surgery.
I know nothing will bring Ace back. I know that the first vet is not directly responsible for him eating the hairball. But by misdiagnosing and being negligent she did not help his condition by keeping him overnight and allowing him to get weaker. I already called up and spoke to front desk but I was so upset and explained but they weren't listening. They said they would call back but didn't. My husband is going to call them tomorrow, he's more calm. The more time passes the more upset i get. I just want her looked into by a Vet board or something. I also don't want this happening to another pet. Also, when she left the room after seeing Ace, she said "yorkies, yorkies, yorkies," in the hallway in a very rude manner. Basically she sounded annoyed. So horrible, my Ace deserved better than this.
If anyone has advice on steps i can look into as far as vet malpractice or something I'd appreciate it. Or has had a similar situation, please let me know. I've tried to research but vet malpractice is I guess more difficult to prove than human malpractice. Thanks.
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