The Country Veterinarian

The Client did bring in his 2.5 year old French bulldog Dino for correction of an elongated soft palate on 1/27/2020 that was causing breathing impairment and was treated at our clinic. Dr. Coughlin has performed this procedure many times on a variety of different dogs with different stages of respiratory impairment secondary to Brachycephalic syndrome. Correction of a soft palate is an elective procedure that is not considered a specialized or specialty procedure and is commonly performed in general practice. Although some clinics may opt to keep patients overnight after a procedure, we at The Country Veterinarian have never done so for this procedure because we do not have 24 hour care. Dino was cleared for surgery after multiple physical exams and bloodwork was performed to show he had no other contraindications for surgery. Swelling and inflammation were present prior to surgery as are with many patients with Brachycephalic syndrome. Surgery went well and had no complications. Dino did well under general anesthesia. Dino vomited after his procedure and was given an injectable anti-nausea medication through his IV catheter but otherwise recovered completely from anesthesia without issue. After Dino’s post surgical exam, he was cleared for discharge. It was not recommended or suggested that Dino stay overnight at an emergency facility because he appeared otherwise healthy at discharge and it is not common practice to do so for healthy patients. We received a call about 10-15 minutes after Dino had been discharged stating Dino was in respiratory distress. The Client was instructed to bring Dino back in for reevaluation. He brought Dino to *** since it was closer to his current location where CPR was attempted. Dino could not be revived and was pronounced deceased. The Client spoke with multiple staff members over the phone during travel and after Dino had been declared deceased. During these phone calls he was inconsolable and very profane. Dr. Coughlin was not available to discuss the case at that time, and The Client stated that he would return to the clinic the next morning. Our clinic was contacted to inform us that The Client had threatened violence. The Client returned to the clinic around 10AM the next morning to discuss the case with Dr. Coughlin. He became very loud and profane and threw medication vials at Dr. Coughlin. Police were then contacted to mediate the exchange. The Client allowed Dr. Coughlin to explain the case. We offered to send Dino’s remains for an autopsy performed by the Clinical Pathology lab at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine at our expense to which The Client agreed. If evidence of wrongdoing was found, The Client was informed that he would be reimbursed in full. Dino’s death is a tragedy and it is still unclear to us why Dino responded the way he did. Post surgical excitement with throat closure secondary to inflammation and elevated blood pressure after seeing the owner were offered as a possible explanation why Dino was otherwise normal in the clinic but not after discharge. This suggestion was purely speculation and has not been experienced by any other patients that have undergone this procedure at our clinic before.