Carolinas Veterinary Medical Hospital

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unknown

We paid $76 which was basically an office visit charge. They checked my dog's leg because she's limping on one leg. They said she needs an operation and they gave me a sheet that said "$1900.00" and I felt like that was too high. The dog only weights 4.4 pounds. It's a little dog and so I checked with another service and they referred me to somebody in Hickory, North Carolina which is about 50 miles away but they said they range from $1400 up but the thing is we have a 4.4 pound dog. It doesn't even weigh 5 pounds. With Carolinas, I felt like it was too high. The only thing good about it is it's about two blocks from where we live. Our last experience was good. The people were so nice. It's a big place and they have a lot of people walking in and out so I felt there must be a lot of happy customers. They're excellent except that their prices seem a little high. They always email us.

Summary:
False representation of staff credentials
Improper Due Diligence performed before recommending MAJOR Surgery
Lack of accountability for decisions
We called Carolinas Veterinary Medical Hospital to confirm if they had an orthopedic specialist on Staff. They said yes and referred us to Doctor Watson. We went to the doctor for a clicking noise that was emanating from the hip and knee causing substantial pain and leaving our dog unable to walk. We confirmed with Dr. Watson that we just had an ACL surgery performed and thought it may have some cause on the clicking symptom. Dr Watson performed an initial examination of our dog and took X-Rays. After the X-Rays were taken, Watson's initial conclusion was he did not know where the click noise was coming from. He confirmed the ACL was intact and didn't believe the ACL was reinjured. He did initial say that the ACL surger, which was performed by another Vet, was done a little differently, and felt there may be something sliding over the knee which is causing the knee to pop. He thought the Hips look beautiful and recommended us to rest our dog.
During the discussion of the X-Rays, a vet tech advised Dr Watson that there was substantial clicking emanating from the hip. Dr. Watson then performed another examination and saw an irregular hip motion. Upon seeing an irregular hip motion, he told us he has NEVER in 20 years come across such a scenario where the X-Rays showed no Hip Dislocation but the HIP was moving in an irregular motion which suggested that ligament holding the Hip together has been torn. He then recommended surgery ASAP. I asked in the WORLD of possibilities, what else could be causing the click noise, as I did not have a trained eye and was unable to see an irregular hip motion. Dr. Watson confirmed there was nothing else he could suggest that would cause the clicking noise and thus surgery was our only option.
We proceeded with the surgery which cost roughly 2500, plus another couple of grand for boarind, meds, x-rays, etc. We wanted to ensure the post care was done properly so we boarded our dog with the vet for roughly a month. As we called to check up on our dog, the Vet tecs confirmed he was doing excellent and recovery was proceeding well.
Skip a month later, we pick up our dog, and the click noise is still there. Absolutely no progress was made. The Vet assured us that is was a major surgery and may take some more time to heal. Dr Watson's pitch was that the and quot;quality of lifeand quot; is what is most important and that our dog was putting sufficient weight on the knee to show that some progress was made. However, Dr Watson never actually saw the dog run to validate that statement. Our dog was limping when we picked him up. We then scheduled a follow-up visit to discuss why we went into Surgery.
The follow-up visit was more like a chat with a politician. Dr watson mentioned his decision was a and quot;4th quarterand quot; decision and that he had to make a call. He said medicine is not like fixing a washing machine, its anatomy. He confirmed the symptom was isolated in the Hip and was resolute about our dog having a torn ligament. He said he wouldn't have done the surgery just for a click noise, but that there was an irregular hip motion that he saw during the 2nd examination. Dr Watson also changed his opinion of the X-Rays saying that after further review, there was some indication that the ligament was torn(thus justifying his surgery). However, before the surgery, this was not communicated. What really caught our ear was when Dr. Watson said we should be happy that he did the best he could. As if to suggest sometimes he doesn't try in surgeries. WHAT?! The conclusion of the follow-up visit was wait and see how our dog recovers.
Skip a couple of months. No progress is made and our dog is still limping. Its clear as day that there was no torn ligament causing the click noise or the pain walking. After 3 months, you should see some progress. We request Dr. Watson to perform another examination. After putting our dog under, Dr. Watson performs some additional stretches on the knee and concludes the issue is not related to the Hip. The clicking noise is related to the knee.
STOP. RIGHT HERE. You mean to tell me that simple strectch of the knee would have caused a different opinion and prevented us from undertaking a major surgery? WOW! Thanks for the proper due diligence performed before a major surgery.
Moreover, we learned Dr. Watson is not a orthopedic specialist. Contrary to what was initially told to use by the Vet tech who answered the phone.
Next, we saw an orthopedic specialist to understand what was going on. After about 5 minutes of examination, the specialist indicates that he is 90% sure our dog has a torn meniscus. He informs us that 30-40% of dogs with a torn ACL go on to have a torn meniscus. 30%-40%. WOW. That's a big number. That's so big that I would think it falls on anyone, with 20 years of experience, to rule that as a possibility causing a click noise or pain walking. Moreover, when the customer tells you about a prior ACL surgery, and to totally ignore that circumstance, falls into the category of negligence.
The conclusion of this review is simple. If you haven't seen something in 20 years, how are you supposed to diagnose it without further consultation with your team, additional examination or research? Moreover, why was this simple stretch of the knee not performed before surgery was undertaken? If a torn meniscus occurs 30-40% of the time a dog has an ACL surgery, why was this not factored into the decision making process. The X-Rays showed absolutely no hip dislocation which would indicate the ligament is not torn. Finally, why did the staff recommend me to Dr. Watson who is not an orthopedic specialist?
We asked Dr. Watson to contribute to the next major surgery our dog will have to undertake as a professional courtesy. The answer was no.

Please see the above comments. This vet really cares. He calls and explains any care plans and expectations or prognosis. His staff are like family.

I have been using Carolina Veterinary Medical Hospital for approximately 7 years now for my 2 dogs. I have used the Vet services, grooming and boarding. I highly recommend them to anyone with pets! Every single person that works there genuinely loves animals and it shows. Dr. Watson is an exceptional vet who also uses good common sense so he can help guide you to the best treatment/care for your animals, (not just the most expensive care options like other places). I feel very confident that my dogs were well taken care of every time I took them there for care, had them bathed and/or boarded them at the facility. I am confident that they were loved and cared for as if they were their own pets. I can't speak highly enough about the staff, Dr. Watson, and practice. I have recommended several friends to the practice and all are now customers.

Carolinas Veterinary Medical Hospital (name has changed) is a wonderful caring place!! The staff really loves animals!! i have been to other Vets in the area that act like they don't care, which is amazing they are in the profession. But this place is warm and welcoming. I love that they have their own pets at work with them.

This clinic has always been responsive to the need of breeders to maintain healthy breeding animals. They are very workable to provide clinic's for screening purposes so that multiple animals of several breeders can be screened on a yearly basis.

Dr. Watson is really good with them. I'm not as happy with his affiliates, but Dr. Watson's wonderful. We're on our fourth dog with them. They call; their follow up has been amazing. The environment there isn't fancy but when we moved from Vermont our dogs were panic stricken every time we even drove by the vet's office, and literally we would walk into Dr. Watson's office and one of my dogs, the little girl dog, would just walk into the back of the clinic, find a bed, curl up and fall asleep. It was freaky how much the dogs were like, "Yeah, whatever." They were just very calm, and they're very concerned about the animals. When our dogs died, they called us. They were great; they just really cared about us as owners. He just did a very, very good job. I don't think his associates have his talent, but Dr. Watson's really good. We've recommended him to a bunch of people.

They are extremely caring and very responsive on anything involving my cats. On one occasion, because I couldn't get there in time to pick up the pets, they took them home with them and I picked them up at their house.

They took care of Axel like he was one of their own. They take pride in the work they do, which is important when working on animals. I'd recommend them to everyone!

In just a few weeks, Dr. Watson diagnosed the problem with my cat, that another vet in over a year, did not look to diagnose. Dr. Watson, with his knowledge and research, and Amy, performed the surgery without making any unnecessary incisions, which was much better for my cat. His explanations are greatly detailed and make things much easier. His amazing staff called me every day to check up, even after hours and weekends and offered so much help. I think he is a veterinary genius with the best staff I have ever seen, and could never go anywhere else for vet care.

MY EXPERIENCE WAS POSITIVE. THEY ARE VERY FRIENDLY AND PROFESSIONAL, AND REALLY SEEM TO CARE ABOUT THE PETS. THEY WERE VERY THOROUGH IN EXAMINING MY PETS, AND THE STAFF WAS VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE.

DR. WATSON AND STAFF ARE JUST GREAT! CAN'T SAY ENOUGH ON THEIR KINDNESS AND THOROUGHNESS!

FOR THE KITTEN: FROM INITIAL VISIT TO END OF CARE NEEDED FOR FIRST YEAR, COST OVER $500. THE NEUTERING VISIT WAS ALMOST $300. I LEARNED AFTER THE FACT THAT I PAID APPROXIMATELY $75 FOR LAB WORK I DID NOT AUTHORIZE. PROPHYLACTIC MEDICATION WAS INCLUDED. I THINK QUALITY OF PRACTICE IS VERY HIGH, BUT AS A CONSUMER YOU NEED TO QUESTION IN ADVANCE HOW MUCH EVERYTHING WILL COST. FOR THE DOG: SIMILARLY, WE WERE IN THE PROCESS OF RULING OUT ALLERGIES, BUT A NEW MEDICATION WAS RECOMMENDED ($50/MONTH) IN SPITE OF NOT BEING SURE WHAT WAS CREATING THE DERM. PROBLEM. MY PRIOR VET WAS WELL AWARE OF THE THE HEART MURMUR, BUT FELT MEDS WERE NOT NEEDED. I WOULD CERTAINLY GO BACK, BUT ONLY PREPARED TO QUESTION EVERY FEE.