Emergency Animal Hospital | Veterinary Neurology | Holistic Medicine | Veterinary Ultrasound | Veterinary Surgeons

Jacqueline J Mair, DVM, MBA
Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons

My veterinary education was obtained at Michigan State University in 1999. I successfully completed an internal medicine internship and surgery residency at Tufts Cummings School in Massachusetts. I became a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2005. Upon completion of my residency I worked in a busy referral practice in Indiana. After 5 years in Indiana I have moved back to Michigan to be with my family.

Prior to veterinary school I attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI where I obtained a degree in finance and economics. I also completed a Masters in Business Administration while working in finance.

What is a Diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons?

A Diplomate refers to a veterinarian who has been board certified in veterinary surgery. Only veterinarians who have successfully completed the certification requirements of the ACVS are Diplomates of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons and have earned the right to be called a specialist in veterinary surgery.

Veterinarians wishing to become board certified must complete a 1 year internship, followed by a three-year residency program, meet specific training and caseload requirements, perform research and have their research published. This process is supervised by current ACVS Diplomates, ensuring consistency in training and adherence to high standards. Once the residency is completed, the resident must sit for and pass a rigorous examination. Only then does the veterinarian earn the title of the ACVS Diplomate.

What Can I Offer?

I can offer a full complement of orthopedic, soft tissue and neurosurgeries. I will not be doing arthroscopy. If I feel there is a sufficient need I may consider it in the future.

I have chosen VCS for a combination of reasons: location, kind and caring staff, 24 hour supervision by a doctor. We do not leave our patients alone overnight without staff to care for their postoperative needs. Even though an animal may seem stable and comfortable at closing time a myriad of complications can ensue in a clinic during the night; catheters can become obstructed, stop functioning, pain medications are required in our pets just as in people on a regular basis, these a just a couple of small issues that must be addressed continuously.

Orthopedic Surgery

Orthopedic surgery is an important part of my job. The most common orthopedic surgeries we perform in veterinary medicine are for cranial cruicate tears and patellar luxations. These are elective orthopedic procedures that more often than not require intervention to allow our pets to be active and less painful.

Our pets also sustain fractures which can be repaired with plates & screws or internal fixation for optimal return to function. This is most important when a pet sustains a fracture of the femur, humerus or pelvis as these fractures cannot be properly splinted.

Small toy breed dogs with fractures of the radius and ulnas require rigid internal fixation to achieve the most successful outcome. There are some dogs that can heal in a splint or a cast, but we know this group of dogs is prone to a very poor outcome without internal fixation.

This is just a short discussion of what we can offer your pet in the area of orthopedic surgery.

Neurosurgery

There are instances in which our pets require neurosurgical intervention to get them back to walking and being less painful.

The most common disease we see in dogs, especially the dachshund, is intervertebral disc disease. This is a degeneration of the intervertebral disc (the cushion and shock absorber) which resides between the vertebral bodies (the bones of the spine). Once a disc becomes abnormal and hardened it can be pushed up into the spinal canal and press on the spinal cord. Once this occurs our pets can be affected to varying degrees. It can be as mild as back pain or as severe as complete paralysis. This disease can affect the neck or the mid to lower back.

While this seems like a devastating injury, our pets can make an amazing recovery. Sometimes a part of this recovery is surgery. I can perform surgical procedures to remove the spinal cord compression which will allow the spinal cord to begin its recovery.

We also occasionally see dogs that have sustained a traumatic fracture or luxation. It is possible to repair this injury if your pet still has pain sensation to their paws.

Soft Tissue Surgery

There are a number of diseases and circumstances which would cause our pets to require soft tissue surgery. The most common reason for an abdominal surgery in a young dog or cat is probably to remove foreign material from their gastrointestinal tract.

As our pets live longer lives we see more cases of cancer or dogs with abdominal masses. Sometimes we meet these pets on an emergency basis or we meet them due to a subtle but consistent decline in health. The fast majority of the time we can provide a surgical solution to an immediate or emergency situation. In cases where it is not an emergency we can certainly provide counsel and advice on the treatment that best suits you, your family and most importantly your pet.

These are just a couple of examples of the need for soft tissue surgery in veterinary medicine.

What is with all the testing?

This is a common feeling among veterinary clients. Imagine that you could not speak or communicate with your doctor. You are clearly sick or injured with no method of communication. What would you want your doctor to do as a next step?

This is our predicament. While we can determine a vast amount of information from physical examination it is often not enough to make treatment decisions. We rely on testing not an in depth conversation with our patients. While a great history is helpful, it is still often not sufficient to make a treatment plan. If we can figure out the problem, we may not understand the severity.

A CBC or complete blood count will provide us with important information. Is your pet anemic, is it severely dehydrated, does it have a high white cell count (indicator of infection)? This one test can be instrumental in the treatment of your pet.

A chemistry, is another very common blood test. This provides us with biochemical markers which help us pinpoint the organ of concern and the severity of the problem. Are the liver values elevated? Are they so high your pet could now be has risk for a bleeding disorder? Are the kidney’s functioning? Is that the reason for the vomiting? Are the kidney’s potentially a chronic or acute issue? These are just a couple of examples of the kind of information we can glean from adequate testing.

A urinalysis is a review of the urine produced by your pet. It tells us if the kidney’s are able to concentrate the urine, is there blood, white cells or bacteria. Could there be a severe urinary tract infection that has lead to a kidney infection. Are there crystals, could your pet have bladder stones.

Radiographs or X-rays help us evaluate the lungs and heart (are there masses), they help us look inside the abdomen for abnormal masses, air, fluid or gastrointestinal obstruction.

These are just the basic tests we often suggest and provide as a part of our basic workup in the sick pet. I hope this helps you understand why we want to perform these tests.

Another consideration is that in many cases the longer you wait to determine the cause and severity of the clinical signs the longer you may be treating the symptoms and not make improvements. Often not just getting the testing done in the beginning just prolongs treatment or you could be missing a more appropriate treatment plan.