| Complaint: | Complaint 19-14 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Cody Alcott |
| Premises: | Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson |
The complainant says her dog went into surgery with Alcott to have surgical decompression for disc disease. She says they received a call from Alcott stating that the surgery went well but that the dog can't breathe on her own any more. She states the dog was reintubated and put on medication. Apparently over the course of the dog's treatment she was intubated a total of three times; the first one was too small, so they put in a larger one that also didn't work, and the third one wasn't just right either. After this going on for a while another veterinarian, Walker, diagnosed the dog with a laryngeal collapse with no good surgical options. The dog was euthanized. The complainant later had a meeting with Alcott where he allegedly told them he had no idea what happened.
Alcott begins with a history of the dog. He says the dog had been unable to walk for the past several months but was otherwise normal. Alcott did a workup and concluded the problem stemmed from disc disease. He spends a paragraph telling us how he warned the complainant and her spouse about the risks of surgery and that there were no guarantees. He performed an MRI and discovered syringohydromyelia and Chiari-like malformation. The dog did well recovering from surgery but in recovery it became obvious the dog couldn't breathe on her own. Drugs were tried to no avail and a succession of tracheostomy tubes were fitted that provided significant improvement for the dog aside from occasional airway obstruction. An airway examination performed by Babinski and Walker found that the dog suffered from collapse of the entire larynx. He says that the complainants were walked through the findings and chose euthanasia. He also details subsequent discussions about not knowing what happened, a partial refund given to the clients, and so on. He points to the partial refund as proof that he and the other veterinarians kept the dog around knowing that she was going to die. He does state the collapse has no obvious reason. He does suggest that the Chiari-like malformation or the syringohydromyelia found on MRI may have been a factor but says he's never seen it himself. (It is unclear how brain abnormalities would cause cartilage to collapse in the middle of spine surgery. It's reported as total collapse, not a paralysis.)
The Investigative Committee begins by stating that the dog's breed is known to have tracheal and laryngeal issues, particularly as they get older. They also point out that just because the two events occurred together it doesn't mean they were Causally connected. They found the surgery to have been performed correctly and said it was either caused by an anesthetic reaction or just going to happen in the near future anyway.
| Source: | November 11, 2018 PM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Cody Alcott | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Adam Almaraz | Absent |
| Amrit Rai | Aye |
| Christine Butkiewicz | Aye |
| Donald Noah | Aye |
| William Hamilton | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | December 12, 2018 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| Proposed By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Seconded By: | Christina Bertch-Mumaw |
| Roll Call: | |
| Christina Bertch-Mumaw | Aye |
| Darren Wright | Aye |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Absent |
| Sarah Heinrich | Aye |
| Result: | Passed |
The primary source for the above summary was obtained as a public record from the Arizona State Veterinary Medical Examining Board. You are welcome to review the original records and board meeting minutes by clicking the relevant links. While we endeavor to provide an accurate summary of the complaint, response, investigative reports and board actions, we encourage you to review the primary sources and come to your own conclusions. In some cases we have also been able to reach out to individuals with knowledge of specific complaints, and where possible that information will be included here.