Veterinary Surgery and Rehabilitation

2013 Top Vets!

Top Vets 2013 web badge
We are so honored to have been selected for the 2013 list of Top Vets in Seattle Met magazine! Ballots were sent to veterinarians in our four local counties, asking them which specialists they would be most likely to refer cases to, and to rate them on various attributes of professional veterinary care. Our four board-certified surgeons, Drs. Allen Johnson, Alex Aguila, Russell Patterson and Russell Bennett were chosen for their high ratings, as was our certified physical rehabilitation vet, Dr. Kari M. Johnson.

Also on the list are Drs. Chelsea Tripp (Oncology) and Ron Walton (Internal Medicine) of Animal Medical Center of Seattle, who work side-by-side with the ASCS team in our hospital. Please see Seattle Met's February edition for the full list, or visit their online site. We would also like to send a big thank-you to our referring vets for the trust you put in us every day. Our greatest desire is to provide the highest level of care for your patients, and the highest level of service to you and your clients!

Bears, yes! String, no!

indy 6mos wants to work 20120824 1641903084 [Note: The Karelian Bear Dog (KBD) program at Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is funded solely through private outside sources, and monies are handled and maintained in a separate account specifically for the care, upkeep and training of the KBDs. If enough funds are generated, the agency hopes to expand their program throughout the state to assist officers in each of their six Regions. If you would like to make a donation to this excellent program, please visit their website for more information.]

Who would have thought that a little piece of string could bring Indy down? After all, he is strong and tough, bred and trained to face down a bear in the wild! But any puppy's curiosity can get the better of him, right? And that string looks like it could be tasty...

Stem Cell Therapy CE

On April 11th, Kari M. Johnson, DVM, CCRP (Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle) and Jennifer Ward, DVM, DACVP (Specialty VETPath) were co-speakers at a continuing education event for our referring veterinarians and veterinary technicians. The event was sponsored by ASCS and Animal Medical Center of Seattle as part of our bimonthly CE series on various topics of interest in the veterinary field. April's topic was STEMulating Conversations: Molecular and Clinical Applications for Veterinary Stem Cell Therapy. This is quite a new and rapidly evolving field, and it was quite exciting to learn what new applications might be on the horizon for stem cell therapy in companion animals!

To see a full list of past and upcoming CE topics, click here.

Congrats to Kari Johnson, DVM, CCRP!

Kari_and_Puppycrop February 2012: The surgeons and staff at ASCS want to give a hearty round of applause to Kari Johnson, DVM, CCRP! Dr. Kari (as she is known to her clients) recently completed her final rehab training and examination and is now a Certified Canine Rehabilitation Practitioner. As one of only 300 veterinarians in the country who hold this accreditation, Dr. Kari is highly trained to provide whole body care, prescribe needed medicines and perform a diagnostic evaluation prior to designing a treatment plan. And as her clients can attest, Dr. Kari does so in an atmosphere of calm compassion. Check out more about our Rehab Center and the care we can provide for your pet!

Brazil, Ocelot

On August 24th, doctors from Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle (ASCS) and Animal Medical Center of Seattle (AMCS) performed a successful intravenous pyelogram (IVP), bone marrow aspirate and core biopsy, and surgical removal of a left kidney (with an associated tumor) on Brazil, a 15-year-old male Ocelot from Woodland Park Zoo (WPZ). It was great to see specialists from five different veterinary fields collaborating together to provide the best possible care for Brazil!

Kyle, Patas Monkey

(Update 03/13/13: While Kyle had a couple great years back at Woodland Park Zoo after his surgery, he recently sustained a severe fracture in his leg and Zoo personnel had to make the difficult decision to euthanize him. Our thoughts go out to his caretakers and the vet staff at the Zoo.)

When Woodland Park Zoo’s 6-year-old, male Patas monkey, Kyle, was suffering from an uncontrollable infection in the bones around his right shoulder, zoo veterinarian Dr. Kelly Helmick worked together with Dr. Alex Aguila of Animal Surgical Clinic of Seattle to determine the best course of action.

Xxandy, Port of Seattle

GeorgeAnn XXandy airport Like any dog who loves his work, Port of Seattle explosives detection dog, Xxandy, would have continued to happily work on only three legs! But when he started displaying brief episodes of rear limb lameness, cooler heads prevailed and his handler, GeorgeAnn, brought him to board-certified surgeon, Dr. Allen Johnson, for an orthopedic workup to determine the specific source of the lameness.

2011 Top Vets

Congratulations to our surgeons selected as Top Vets in the March 2011 edition of Seattle Met Magazine! Veterinarians from six local counties were asked which surgeon they would be most likely to refer a specialty case to, and also to rate the surgeons on several professional attributes. We would like to thank our referring family vets for their vote of confidence!

Pooka, Pelvic Fractures

Dear Dr. Aguila and Staff - Rarely a day goes by that I'm not reminded of all you did for my dear Pooka-dog! She is in top form, running hard and playing harder, and showing no signs of slowing any time soon. I hope you and your families and animals all can celebrate the holidays with such joyful abandon! All the best, Jessica

Care Credit

CareCredit is a credit card offered for health care expenses through the GE Money Company. You will need to apply for your account and receive your credit limit prior to your pet's treatment. The application and approval process generally takes less than 15 minutes and can be accomplished online or over your phone.

We do not offer all of the payment plans carried by CareCredit. At the time of your pet's discharge, you will be asked to choose which of our offered plans you would like to use.

To apply, click on the button to the left.

You can also call CareCredit directly at 800-859-9975 to apply.

If you have any other questions about CareCredit, our referral coordinators would be happy to help you.

Albus, TPLOs

Dear Dr. Patterson and Staff,

Thank you so much for making possible Albus's best summer, ever! We had hoped for marked improvement following his surgeries, but didn't dare believe he could truly be a "whole" dog again. Boy, we were wrong. This spring and summer have been a thrill for us all.

It's been truly a delight to see Albus run the stairs, enjoy our long walks, to watch him "swim" (that is, dabble; he still doesn't believe he's a water dog), play on the beach, chase critters into the woods, and goof with his brother. With the exception of his walks, he's spent the whole summer off leash. Wa-hoo! What a joy!

Thank you for making our boy "real" again! None of us could be happier with his progress and the surgical outcome.

Dane, Lisa, Tristan, Em and Albus (8/25/09)

(Albus had a Right TPLO in 9/08 and Left TPLO in 12/08)

Our Rehab Center

One of the most exciting areas of our new hospital is our Animal Rehabilitation Center. The Center is equipped with hydrotherapy (underwater treadmill), land treadmill and various other treatment modalities. Our primary goals are to help our patients with a speedy recovery, minimize pain along the way, and help to provide the best quality of life in the long term.

For more information about how rehab can benefit your pet, check out our Rehab pages!

American College of Veterinary Surgeons Symposium

During November 2011, three of our surgeons and our newest technician attended the American College of Veterinary Surgeons (ACVS) Symposium in Chicago as part of their continuing education. Symposium lectures covered a wide variety of topics, from orthopedics to soft tissue to minimally invasive surgical techniques. Drs. Allen Johnson and Russ Patterson also attended a workshop regarding the latest in fracture repairs. This symposium is an excellent way for our doctors to keep abreast of new developments and techniques in veterinary surgery, anesthesia and pain management.