Sahil O

Hilton vet hospital - medical negligence

I write this with a heavy heart, as our furbaby son Zeus Singh had to be euthanized today due to negligence of Hilton Vet Hospital pietermaritzburg. I am beyond disappointed and angry at the service that my family and I have received, leave alone our furbaby son. I want to also save other furbaby owners from the heart ache we endured... We are absolutely crushed💔💔💔💔 Prior to our furbaby son presenting with knee pain, he had no issues walking until the 23rd of December 2023, which is why we went to the only specialist orthopedic surgeon in KwaZulu-Natal Dr Sara Boyd, who also had performed his left TPLO surgery a year ago. On the 23rd of December 2023 we were very badly treated when we requested Dr Boyd to please attend to him as we were told that we demanded her time when she was on holiday. After pleading, it was agreed that she would see him on the 24th of December 2023 and only proceed with his surgery after she checks his spine, which she did. Zeus went in for a right knee operation (TPLO) on the 24th of December 2023. Post-Op Zeus could not stand on his hind legs, urinate and defecate. Zeus’s X-rays and scans showed no herniated disc nor nerve being pinched prior to the surgery. Dr Boyd had given him an epidural for the TPLO and only informed us after the operation was done that he had been given an epidural. This was the first time we heard that an epidural was necessary, however upon asking for second opinions many doctors stated that an epidural for a TPLO surgery was risky. Upon discharge on the 26th of December 2023, we had to carry him to the car, which was concerning as with the previous operation for his left TPLO, he walked out by himself using both legs successfully. No epidural was administered for the first TPLO surgery in 2022. Two days after the 26th of December 2023, Zeus was still not able to walk by himself or with aid, let alone urinate or defecate. We had to actually take him to another vet in Durban Dr Shanil Singh from Vet Care Sherwood to get him catheterized, as well as to give him enema, as the nurse at Hilton Vet Hospital failed to catheterize him before being discharged. 8 days post-op, Zeus is/was still not able to walk, defecate or urinate. We had informed Hilton Vet Hospital and had no solution except being told that Dr Boyd shall only return on the 8th of January 2024. Our question to them was were we supposed to leave him in that condition, deteriorating until she returns? The answer was that we should bring him for Dr Helen to assess him so she could report to Dr Boyd, which we did do on the 30th of December 2023. We did the 'great trek' with Zeus and came back home. From then until the 2nd of January 2024 we have been back and forth and Dr Boyd never called to check up on her patient, which is very disappointing and shocking. Zeus's quality of life had deteriorated drastically. Hilton Vet Hospital stated that they had video proof that Zeus was able to walk on the 25th of December 2023 before being discharged, which we still await proof thereof more so because we were present throughout. We also tried to walk him in the presence of Dr Arina and Mikayla from Hilton Vet Hospital and it was impossible for him to walk. He had no feeling in his feet and no strength in his back legs whatsoever which was a real concern as prior to the 23rd of December 2023 he was completely fit, running around. He came in to Hilton Vet Hospital due to pain in his knee and struggle walking on the right leg and after the surgery he was not mobile on both legs. Yesterday being the 2nd of January 2024, we were told that we needed to go back to Hilton Vet Hospital for Dr De Scally who owns the hospital to assess him. How many assessments was he supposed to undergo? Upon arrival to Hilton Vet Hospital on the 3rd of January 2024, Martin De Scally was a completely rude person and definitely not meant to work in the animal health care profession. We had asked him how many more days do we have to go back and forth from Durban to Pietermaritzburg with Zeus being in pain and still we have to wait till the last appointment to see the doctor, especially because of his condition. He then said that we are abusing and demanding that his staff see to Zeus immediately. He conveniently forgot that Zeus has been in a state of paralysis for 8 days and therefore should have been a priority. Furthermore, we not only reside almost 2 hours away, but also we are being financially inconvenienced and drained by the practice by this back and forth which was very uncomfortable for Zeus and stressed him out. Over a R****** in bills only to have Zeus in a condition that was unacceptable and inhumane. Leaving his condition unattended by the person who could actually rectify his condition was not only life threatening for him but torturous. Today we also learnt that nurses administer anesthetic and we are yet to find out who administered his anesthetic especially because the nurse who tried to give him anesthetic to catherize him, failed dismally and at that point, we did not know that person was a nurse. We had to even spend a further R***xx for Dr Helen to put an external catheter, which could have been avoided if he was able to walk properly after surgery which according to Dr Helen, Dr Boyd and Dr Sujatha he was suppose to walk post-op. What is also shocking is that the same catheterization costs R***x at our local Vet clinic but unfortunately they were closed and we had to pay almost 10x the amount for the same procedure. Other vet hospitals advised us to go back to where he had the operation as they need to fix the problem they had created. Today Hilton vet also expected us to send him for an MRI to try to pass the buck but Dr Boyd had taken radiographs prior to his surgery and showed us his spine had no herniated discs. We had to decide if it was in the best interest of Zeus to allow the Dr's of Hilton vet to administer anesthetic especially with the owner's disgusting behaviour towards us and history of them administering anesthetic as well as when we advised that Zeus cannot wait any longer, he stormed out and asked us to take Zeus elsewhere if we can't wait.... He conveniently forgets that it was Zeus who could not wait, as he was patient for 8 days..... If it were a human, would the human be treated differently? I think we need to remind people of why we choose our careers, veterinarians are in the business of ensuring animal health, which is the oath that they take and they need to act accordingly. We have to speak for those who don’t necessarily have a voice. Medical negligence whether human or animal occurs everyday and we must all speak up for those who can't. Veterinary health has become very commercialized and we need to stand firm against animal cruelty. The bigger problem is that Kzn only has one Orthopedic/Neuro surgeon..... Something has to be drastically done about this KZN!!! https://www.facebook.com/share/p/CUDL55x2cFcfzUyS/?mibextid=WiMSqg