Medicine makes big strides for pets, too

Owners treat loved ones to CAT scans, insulin, root canals and more

ITHACA, N.Y. - They get CAT scans and MRI's to detect the extent of cancer; lithotripsy to dissolve kidney and bladder stones; dialysis and transplants for kidney failure; surgery, chemotherapy and even radiation therapy to treat cancer; laser surgery for glaucoma; pacemakers to correct abnormal heart rhythms; ultrasonic surgery and lens implants for cataracts; root canal therapy for broken teeth; chiropractic treatments for sore backs; spinal surgery for ruptured disks; and arthroscopic surgery and cartilage cell transplants for crippling knee problems.

They are treated in intensive care units for respiratory, kidney or liver failure; they run on treadmills to test heart function; and they take Prozac-type drugs for separation anxiety, Anipryl for senility, Tagamet for ulcers, insulin shots for diabetes, hormones for anemia, and steroids and antibiotics for irritable bowel syndrome.

"They" are the pets - dogs, cats, horses, ferrets, birds, rabbits, snakes, lizards, guinea pigs and even turtles and fish - of people who love them enough to spend sometimes thousands of dollars to keep them alive and enjoying a reasonable quality of life. And because animals rarely outlive their owners, veterinary clinics like the one here at Cornell University and the Animal Medical Center in New York City offer bereavement counseling for people who have lost beloved pets.

Nearly every medical procedure now done on humans is being used or at least studied at the nation's leading companion animal medical centers.

"All the big milestones in human medicine have eventually been adopted by veterinary medicine," Dr. Robert Gilbert said in an interview here. Gilbert is associate dean for clinical programs at Cornell's Hospital for Animals, a referral center where more than 13,000 pets are treated each year.

Reverse process

Sometimes the process goes in reverse. Procedures like embryo transplants and cartilage cell transplants were used successfully in veterinary centers before moving into human medicine.

Here, for example, Dr. Alan Nixon, chief of large animal surgery, is now using gene therapy to treat osteoarthritis in horses, while veterinary oncologists at the Animal Medical Center are collaborating with cancer researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to develop limb-saving treatments for pets and people with osteosarcoma, the bone cancer that usually necessitates amputation when it strikes an arm or leg. The work is supported by the National Cancer Institute.