| Complaint: | Complaint 21-21 |
|---|---|
| Respondent: | Brett Cordes |
| Premises: | Arizona Animal Hospital |
The complainant tells us that her dog jumped off a bed and injured her right hind leg. The dog was said to be limping, panting, and in pain. She took the dog to Cordes who performed x-rays; she says she could hear the dog crying during the exam. Cordes is said to have told her the dog had arthritis, a narrowing of the spine, and some compressed nerves. He also allegedly told her that these would end up leading to the dog's death but that they could try laser therapy, or as a last resort, steroids. She says the lasers didn't help and the dog was still in a lot of pain; on each visit she says the dog was worse. She claims Cordes told her the dog probably just didn't have much energy because of the summer heat and dispensed hemp oil. He allegedly told her it was a hard problem that would lead to hard decisions. She asked why apparently slow, chronic changes would have manifested so suddenly. On another occasion she said she asked about an MRI only to be told that they cost a lot of money and would just lead to a surgery with a poor outcome. She was also given steroids that didn't help. The complainant was desperate and asked a retired veterinarian friend to take a look; she said that it wasn't a spinal problem but a knee or hip issue. The dog was taken to Southwest Veterinary Surgical Service where severe arthritis and a torn right cranial cruciate ligament were diagnosed. The dog's liver values were also exceedingly high (perhaps as a result of the steroids). The dog underwent a liver biopsy and TPLO surgery and is doing fine now.
Cordes says that they did a workup there but that there was no reason to jump into surgery; indeed, he says he ran the case by his wife, an orthopedic rehabilitation expert, and she says he handled this case really well. He states that back pain was the initial diagnosis so they went ahead with a multimodal approach for pain control. X-rays made him think IVDD was likely and scheduled a recheck in three weeks; he says the complainant never brought the dog back. He then states that the complainant has mischaracterized both his handling of the case and the manner he went about helping the dog; he feels that his empathy was mistaken for negativity and that what he said is taken out of context in the complaint. He also says that if the dog had an ACL injury they can be controlled with pain medication for several weeks until surgery is available; in this case he says they attempted to get the dog into a specialist but nobody was available because of the coronavirus. He says he's been a veterinarian for 25 years, worked as a technician in a specialty surgical practice for 4 years as a technician, and he knows "how to evaluate a knee." He's concerned the dog will have recurring pain and he's also concerned that Schaible went ahead and did a liver biopsy. He says it's impossible to know if the ACL surgery will really help the dog's pain.
The Investigative Committee said that the case had been mismanaged in addition to there being serious communication issues. They felt the workup on the dog was inadequate and had concerns that Cordes couldn't identify the dog's painful knee; they also felt that he may have altered the medical records. They felt that Cordes misdiagnosed the dog and that even if the dog had other health issues, the torn ACL was the main one. They also didn't have, like, anything positive to say about hemp oil, my man. But they did find Cordes guilty of three violations including gross negligence and altering records. The Board, on the other hand, threw all that out; they sent a letter of concern instead. Apparently they couldn't bring themselves to hand down anything serious against Brett the Vet, a rather popular figure with a variety of side hustles who gets around in veterinary and general media.
Schaible, the veterinarian who saved this dog (aside from the family friend, of course), was actually the respondent just a few cases ago in 21-16, in which a medical doctor (and allegedly another veterinarian) had serious doubts about her bone-fixing skills. You'll see this pattern in a lot of these records if you start looking at the guest stars mentioned in a complaint.
| Source: | February 2, 2021 AM Investigative Committee Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Brett Cordes | Respondent |
| Roll Call: | |
| Carolyn Ratajack | Aye |
| Christina Tran | Aye |
| Jarrod Butler | Absent |
| Robert Kritsberg | Aye |
| Steve Seiler | Aye |
| Violations: | |
| ARS § 32-2232 (11) Gross negligence; treatment of a patient or practice of veterinary medicine resulting in injury, unnecessary suffering or death that was caused by carelessness, negligence or the disregard of established principles or practices. Respondent misdiagnosed and mismanagedthe case - the pet owner reported the dog's ongoing pain and there was no follow-up besides laser therapy. | |
| ARS § 32-2232 (12) as it relates to AAC R3-11-501 (9) a veterinarian shall not make a false statement on or alter any document, record, or report concerning treatment of an animal. Respondent addedinformation to the dog's medical record for visits on 6/24/20 and 7/2/20 after receiving the complaint. | |
| ARS § 32-2232 (21) as it relates to AAC R3-11-502 (L) (4) failure to examine the dog when presented for veterinarymedical services and document the results in the medicalrecord on 6/17/20, 6/26/20, 6/29/20 and 7/2/20. | |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | March 3, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Brett Cordes | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | J Greg Byrne |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| Sarah Heinrich | Absent |
| Result: | Passed |
| Source: | April 4, 2021 Board Meeting |
|---|---|
| People: | |
| Brett Cordes | Respondent |
| David Stoll | Respondent Attorney |
| Proposed By: | Robyn Jaynes |
| Seconded By: | Sarah Heinrich |
| Roll Call: | |
| Darren Wright | Absent |
| J Greg Byrne | Aye |
| Jane Soloman | Aye |
| Jessica Creager | Aye |
| Jim Loughead | Aye |
| Nikki Frost | Aye |
| Robyn Jaynes | Aye |
| 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.