mount pleasant – Bunny Wives

How it happened?

On 9 September 2020, my mum called to inform me that Twix had injured herself. Rushed home after my last appointment to see her lying on the bed and unable to greet me like she used to. My first instinct was to check her legs and there’s no visible wound. And so, I touched and give a light squeeze on her legs and she doesn’t seem to be in pain either. But she definitely can’t walk and she was soaked in pee. The bed she was lying on was soaked as well.

Called my mum to enquire what had happened. I was told Twix was trying to get her attention and was jumping on her hind legs as per usual. Suddenly she gave a loud yelped and refused to move thereafter. She even refused to have her breakfast.

Worried, I called up our regular vet to check if it’s OK for me to head down for an emergency check. Because I know she’s in pain somewhere but I have no idea where. Cleaned her up and we head down to the clinic.

Namly Animal Clinic

Address: 74 Namly Pl, Shamrock Park, Singapore 267223

Went to see Dr Ling who thankfully was on duty. After she checks Twix for any visible wound, she said it’s best to do an x-ray. The results came back to show that Twix had dislocated her right hip. After we’ve seen the x-ray, Dr Ling mentioned that she doesn’t specialise in Orthopaedic and would refer us to a specialist.

Checking with us where we stay, she recommended Dr Landon and Dr Dennis Choi. After consideration, Dear and I decided to go do Dr Dennis Choi. Firstly, we don’t have the budget to see Dr Landon although I’ve read many positive reviews of him. Secondly, Dr Dennis Choi is nearer for us and reviews of him were good as well.

We trust Dr Ling’s recommendation and she went ahead to get us an appointment. Thankful for her help and advise. We were given some pain killers for Twix to ease her pain. And was given instructions to fast her from food before the appointment with Dr Dennis Choi.

Appointment with Dr Dennis Choi

Dr Dennis Choi after reviewing Twix’s x-ray, he gave us a few treatment options and the risks that come with it.

Pop the dislocated hip back. No surgery required. But chances of the hip dislocate again is higher.
Putting a screw to hold the hip in place. Chances of dislocating are still there but lesser compared to popping the dislocated hip back to the original place.
FHO surgery. It is a surgery to remove the femoral head. Scar tissue will be formed and act as a “joint” to hold the hip in place. So there won’t be any chance of hip dislocate in the same area.
Hip replacement surgery. Not very common in dogs but the option is available. If we opt for this surgery, he needs to refer us to Dr Landon as he’s not familiar with this procedure.

We decided to go with FHO surgery after taking her lifestyle and activity level-wise at home. And so Twix got admitted to the hospital. Was told that we can pick her up the next day as they need to monitor her for a day.

After Surgery

The day Twix got discharged, we’ve been encouraging her to walk and utilize her leg. And we’ve decided to temporarily put Toby with Dear’s sister while Twix was still recovering. Which was about two to three weeks where we think it’s safe for the siblings to reunite. I’ve also rescheduled most of my appointments to spend time with Twix during her recovery period. I would say I’m a paranoid mother despite me always assuring my customers that their fur kids will be fine.

Daily night walk at the carpark due to rainy day.

Every morning, I would do some home physiotherapy exercises with Twix. This was before Dr Choi teaches me anything. I thought maybe doing a few walking movements might help.
Every night, we would bring her out for a short walk. Or maybe longer when we think she’s able to push her limit for the night. We would usually head home when we noticed she started to limp and not utilise the affected leg.

Reviews with Dr Choi

After the surgery, there would definitely be a few follow up reviews with Dr Choi. The first review was to make sure the wounds are OK and to check on Twix and see how she’s doing. Subsequent reviews was to make sure that Twix is getting stronger, better and utilizing her legs.

Dr Choi taught me how to do some physiotherapy at home with Twix. The first set was to mimic the walking movement and some stretching. A few weeks later at another review, we were told that Twix is good to go climbing stairs as part of her physiotherapy exercises. And he encouraged us to get Twix to do the sit and stand exercise, dog version of squats.

All in all, we had three reviews with Dr Choi after the surgery. After the third review, he said Twix is doing better and there isn’t a need to see her anymore. We continued with daily night walks and home physiotherapy exercises and we’re glad with the progress Twix made. We were told many were still not utilising the leg after the surgery which led to weak muscles.

Really thankful for Dr Choi for performing the surgery for Twix and giving her the greatest care we could ever ask for. She recovered well and is back to walking on four legs.

If you’re interested where Dr Choi is, he’s at Mount Pleasant Gelenggang.

Before Our Visit

After Twix had her x-ray at Namly Animal Clinic with Dr Ling, we were told she doesn’t do orthopaedic surgery and had to refer us to a specialist. She mentioned that there’s two specialist she would recommend us. Dr Landon and Dr Dennis Choi.

As I know who Dr Landon is as I spent most of my time scrolling on Facebook, his name was mentioned a lot in the Poodle Club Facebook group. It was mentioned that his fee can be expensive.

Due to budget, we opted for Dr. Dennis Choi who is based at Mount Pleasant Gelenggang. We’ve read a lot of bad experience with Mount Pleasant, but we decided to trust Dr Ling in recommending us the best veterinarian for Twix’s condition.

First Visit

Dear drove while I carried Twix in my arm during the journey. Upon arrival, we entered to find it quite crowded yet social distancing were adhered to due to covid-19 measures. As I stood looking lost because no vet technicians were available for me to approach at the reception desk. No one greeted me or asked me to wait while they finish with their task. Some were even seen chit-chatting casually among themselves.

So we managed to register after a good 5 minutes of waiting, we were told that only one owner is allowed in the premises although we noticed that some fur kid do have more than a owner around. But thankful to Dr Choi who allowed Dear to enter the room because I can’t decide on which treatment would be suitable for Twix. His kind understanding did help in our decision making and taking the stress off me.

Second Visit – Twix’s Discharge Day

Arrived at the clinic after work to pick Twix up. The reception’s vet technician called up to request for Twix’s discharge twice because we waited but no Twix walk out the door. Although it was about 30 minutes to get Twix discharged, not sure why the hospitalization room took so long to bring the daughter out to us.

Instructions of aftercare and medication were given to us clearly. Which I am satisfied with as I had a friend who told me nobody told her anything about after surgery care. And yes, she went to the same Mount Pleasant clinic as us.

Stitch Removal

When it’s time for Twix to remove the stitches, which I was told I don’t have to make an appointment and there’s no cost for the removal, I made time for it.

Took her to the clinic myself and was ushered into a room where a group of vet technicians was standing around as though they were waiting for our arrival. It was a quick procedure. Fuss and pain-free. Could see how comfortable Twix was.

However, there’s one vet technician who wasn’t friendly at all and insists that I head to the counter to check if I need to make payment for the stitch removal. Although I didn’t like the way she said it, I made my way there to check with the receptionist. Thankfully, no payment needed and we get to go home.

Review

The first review we had was a week after the surgery. Then another a month later. I would say the services rendered were much better than our first visit. Not sure what’s going on there or that it’s quite normal for a corporate kind of veterinary clinic.

From registering to seeing Dr. Choi to making payment, everything was a breeze and much better compared to our first visit. I would say, definitely there’s an improvement.

Skinny Bunny’s Thought

Many negative reviews about Mount Pleasant, but I’m thankful that our overall visits were pleasant. I guess, it depends on individuals and what’s your expectations are. For us, our main concerns was to get Twix treated by one of the best veterinarian in Singapore. As long as she recovers well with no complications and comfortable with the doctors and nurses there, I’m OK.

Do give Mount Pleasant a chance to prove themselves worthy if you have not visited the clinic before. I’m sure there is some nice and good staff there. Let’s not penalize them just for a few bad feedbacks online. (Maybe I’ll get flamed for trying to put good words for Mount Pleasant. Haha…) But honestly, everywhere will definitely have some bad apples around that tarnish the company’s reputation. Don’t let these bad ones deter you away from good veterinarians in the clinic.

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Twix’s Hip Dislocate Recovery Journey