Hope Advanced Veterinary Center

Our precious girl died less than 24 hours after being released. They did a precautionary chest x-ray upon admission that was completely clear. She seemed okay the afternoon after being released, but was lethargic and had a bad cough the next morning. We took her to Pender and the x-rays showed her lungs suddenly full of fluid and they said nothing could be done to save her. Because this seemed completely unrelated to the original GI issue, I did some research online and found that giving too much fluid via IV can cause the lungs to fill with fluid. When I spoke to a vet at Pender about this, he agreed that this was a likely cause. Of course Hope will deny that they made any such mistake, and I'll never prove it, but I am certain that Hope killed our beloved family member. Needless to say, we will never trust Hope with a pet again.

[Note: Angie's List displays reviews as a single paragraph. My reviews tend to be long, so for easier reading see the same review on Yelp for Hope Advanced Veterinary.] I was able to get our first appointment with Hope fairly quickly. You are taken to an exam room by a tech/aid within 10 minutes or so of the scheduled time who does all the initial exam procedures before Dr. Adkins comes in about 5 minutes later. We were never left alone in the room for more than 5 minutes or so for either of our two appointments. Scheduling and wait times are not a problem at all. All members of the staff from the front desk to techs/aids are friendly, helpful, courteous, show great patience in answering questions. I was impressed with Dr. Adkins at the first appointment. She was very thorough examining my 17-year old Persian cat, Babe. I wanted to see if a growth on his right eye, which had been there for years, could be removed. Babe's Vet said it was probably exasperating the discharge typically seen in Persian cats' eyes. Dr. Adkins said it could be drained, not removed, but would grow back within 1-2 weeks. She said this type of growth is seen in Persian cats, as long as it is not touching the cornea it would be OK. Although this was close to the cornea it was not touching. Dr. Adkins did surprise me, however, when she said his left eye had developed glaucoma and a melanoma, it would not be possible to test the melanoma to see if benign or malignant. That at some point it would be best to remove Babe's left eye to ensure the melanoma did not spread to other parts of his body, but for now, we needed to give him drops to reduce the pressure from glaucoma. We started with 3 different eye drop medications. The next morning I started the eye drops. The first med was tolerated, but the 2nd caused a painful reaction. Babe ran across the room whimpering then up to my bed where he stayed 6 hours, did not eat or drink the entire time, whimpering for quite a while. I had never heard him whimper before. Cats are good at hiding pain, Babe was obviously in a lot of pain from the drop. Later that day it looked like a gray film formed over his eye. I sent an email to Dr. Adkins within the first 3 hours when Babe wasn't improving. Not sure who I was having an email conversation with since they didn't sign, but I assumed if it was not Dr. Adkins the person I was communicating with was receiving responses from Dr. Adkins before replying. The first reply said the drop was stinging his eye but to keep giving it to him. I said I was not comfortable with that because I did not want to watch him go through that again. It was agreed that I would continue to give Babe just one of the drops twice a day and then see how he was doing on the next visit. That we would try a gradual approach. At the next visit the pressure in his eye had dropped from 38 to 32, which I thought was a good start. The conversation with Dr. Adkins, however, was disconcerting. I was told that Babe was now blind in his left eye, that it was my fault for only giving him the drops 2X rather than 3X per day. I reminded her I had sent her an email. She didn't seem to remember any of the email conversations about Babe whimpering, the pain he experienced, and agreeing to one med 2X a day. I told her Babe had extreme discomfort for 6 hours, did not eat or drink anything during that time, and it appeared a gray film formed over his eye. Dr. Adkins said this sounded like an allergic reaction. She said the pupil constricting to a very narrow slit indicated that the pressure was reduced. But she continued to say it was my fault Babe was now blind in his left eye and that we should remove that eye. I scheduled the surgery, I was very nervous and upset, but also confused by Dr. Adkins reaction. I agreed to a blood test that day, I was told Babe has a heart murmur (which he has had for years) so I needed to schedule a thorough heart evaluation with the cardiologist one floor down, which I did. I reminded Dr. Adkins that we had been told for some years now that Babe should not be anesthetized due to his liver condition. She just stared at me like this was the first time she was hearing it. When I made the first appointment I had sent an email stating this, I was told that would be taken into consideration during his appointment to see what could be done without anesthesia. The estimate I received for the surgery only said they would monitor anesthesia. I was told not to feed him after 10pm the night before the surgery, that he would have to wear a cone for 2 weeks and that I should not touch his left eye during that time. I was also told that in some procedures after removing one eye the cat will be blind in the other eye. She said this only happens rarely and insisted that this is not the case with the procedure she uses. This just made me more uncomfortable as she had repeated this 2 or 3 times. After we were home, and over several days, Babe did not appear to be blind in his left eye. If the right side of his face was turned away from me and I approached his left eye, he would close his left eye. I tried this numerous times to be sure the right eye did not see me approaching. It was later confirmed when I got a second opinion that he was not blind in that eye. I just was not comfortable and had lost confidence in Dr. Adkins so I canceled the surgery with Hope, canceled the cardiologist appointment, and made an appointment for a second opinion at Vet Vision. Babe still needed to have his left eye removed, but the difference in procedures described to me and care both before and after were worlds apart. I also had complete confidence in the Ophthalmologist at Vet Vision. So very glad I followed my instincts and got the second opinion. All the reasons why are in my review for Vet Vision on AngiesList.com and Yelp.

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As noted the surgery was a failure and our sweet dog died. No one had an explanation for what happened. I surely question the competence of Vienna VSC and the Hope Center. And, there was little compassion -- except perhaps from Dr. Caro. There was much more interest in collecting the huge fee - - despite the complete failure of the professionals to successfully do their jobs. Ultimately, our dog's life was shortened by our mistake of putting our trust in Vienna VSC and the Hope Center.

They really care about the pets and parents. All the workers are good.

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The cost of service ranges between $250 and $450 per appointment, an average of $350. They are very caring and knowledgeable specialists. It is not inexpensive. It can be quite expensive, but they know what they are doing and what the treatments are. They would not sell you an ineffective treatment.

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The staff was outstanding.

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When your pet needs help, you hope for a good vet, one who knows the options.    And you pray for a great vet, one who?s wise enough to guide you through those options.     We had an emergency with our dear old dog Orshi late one night.   Frantic, we called the Hope Center and got calm, clear directions.    Upon arrival, our dog was immediately gathered up by the staff.   And they listened when we said the priority was relieving her pain.    Within only minutes, she was comfortable.  
Then Dr. Wood spoke with us about Orshi?s condition, and steps that could be taken.    Dr. Wood not only provided information, she listened as we reviewed Orshi?s numerous health challenges.    When we made the choice to let Orshi go, Dr. Wood was only supportive.   The process was gentle, and then the kind staff again stepped forward to make everything as easy as possible.    We will always miss our dear companion, and always be grateful to the Hope Center for giving her peace in her last hour.     

Our French bulldog began having issues walking in late January and by February she was in a lot of pain.  The emergency vet put her on pain meds and crate rest and things got better for a while.  However, as she got active again, she began losing her coordination.  We took her to our regular vet who felt there was a high chance of disc problem.  They got us in touch with Hope and we drove down that afternoon.  They put her in for an MRI and the results showed the disc was pressing into her spinal cord causing paralysis.  Because of the fast progression, they operated that evening on her.  She stayed overnight and was able to come home two days later.  They explained everything in detail and walked us through the procedure using the MRI.  The MRI and the surgery are not cheap, but to see our little girl walking again for her second birthday is priceless!  Dr. Lisa Lipitz did her surgery and she is an amazing vet and truly amazing person.  The staff there is thorough, and they know who you are when you call and put you right thru to a vet to answer you directly.  I can't imagine going anywhere else if this happens to our other Frenchie!

It was an emergency and they took her right in. The communication was great between the hospital and my primary vet. Unfortunately my dog passed, however they were very compassionate.

I was very impressed. The vets are specialists so it is a place to go for advanced medical issues. It is not cheap but no vet in northern virginia is. I would go there again and would recommend it to anyone with a sick pet.

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From the women working at the front desk to the doctors I spoke with, everyone was very professional and caring. They were all very welcoming and concerned which is important because going to a specialist usually involves stress for not only the pet but the pet parent! They kept me updated every step of the appointment, always explained what they were doing, why they were doing and how long it would take plus how much it would all cost. They saw me at the exact time of my appointment and the appointment lasted exatly how long they said it would. We are currently awaiting the results of all of the tests, but having been to quite a few different vet offices, this is one of the best. I will update as the process moves along.

The dog was up and walking three days after he started taking antibiotics and was fully recovered in February when we took him to Dr. Cordner at the Hope Center for an ultrasound. That examination -along with a bunch of other tests ordered by her, showed no signs of infection. It had all cleared. She then recommended another follow up and we did so on March 30. Another Once again everything was good. At that time, as in our previous appointment, I discussed with Dr. Cordner the fact that my dog's primary physician had told me in December when he had his regular physical, that because he old, diabetic and prone to infections, we may need to put him on some long term antibiotic regimen for life, and asked if we can keep him on Baytril. She did NOT agree at all, and asked us to stop the antibiotics so that she can do another test...
In less than two weeks after she had us stop the Baytril, our dog became very ill again. We had to spend more money for another urine/culture for her to tell us that the test showed he was now resistant to Baytril and all other regular antibiotics!! So she prescribed Nitrofurantoin (which causes neurological issues, even though she knew our dog had myelopathy). When that totally debilitated him in two days, she ordered Meripenem shots which would cost $80 per day and which he would have needed for at least two weeks, probably longer. As the Meripenem shots did not show significant improvement we took our dog to Dr. Simpkins at Pender.
The visit there was very enlightening and probably saved his life. First, we discovered that the infection is gone. Second we discovered that his bladder was not voiding and that unless we help him express it, infections will keep brewing. Third we found out that his sugar was off the roof, the result of the drugs he was put on at the Hope Center. Since his sugar was not coming down with increased dose of insulin, we decided to stop the Meripenem shots. We put him back on Baytril/Clyndamycin, the bladder is being expressed and he is once again on the road to recovery, after having suffered this unnecessary setback at the hands of Dr. Cordner at the Hope Center. He is much more alert now and much stronger, and getting better and better every day.
I wrote to the CEO of the Hope Center and explained that I walked in there with a dog whose tests were all good and walked
out of there with a dog on the verge of death and asked for part of our money back. As expected she refused. Our feeling is that there is no hope at this hopeless money hungry and quot;Hopeand quot; center, especially if you have a senior dog.. They will milk you till both your dog and your wallet are completely drained.

REBUTTAL TO COMPANY RESPONSE:

The Hope Center only took two urine samples from my dog, one in February and one in March, (and therefore conducted only two cultures) BEFORE they had us stop giving him baytril. They did not do three and definitely not and quot;multipleand quot;. The third urine test and culture was done after she had us stop giving him baytril and came back positive. So they way I see it, they did not even follow protocol, unless their and quot;three culture techniqueand quot; involves culturing over and over again the same sample which is ridiculous.