Dr. Patty Khuly

By Patty Khuly, VMD Despite the cheeky title, flatulence can be a serious business, indeed. Yet in vet school I don’t recall gas ever getting its due. The flashier subjects of diarrhea and vomiting in dogs and cats always overshadowed "excessive intestinal gas production" when discussing the category of gastrointestinal ailments. And while that’s understandable, flatulence needn’t be...

Did you know that HIV/AIDS is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide? Indeed, few diseases induce human suffering on this impressive scale. While this pandemic does appear to be reaching a peak, it’s clear we have a long way to go before its global effects can be successfully attenuated. The fact that I’m addressing this issue on this blog leads to the inevitable question: What does...

Drives me crazy. I’ve only just started my physical and already I’ve faced two obstacles: Mr. Client #1 and Ms. Client #2. Both have made it plain (before I’ve even arrived at the ears in my nose-to-tail exam) that "Walter" is too old to be doing anything "heroic" for him. Translation: I shouldn’t make a big deal out of all that gray stuff oozing from his gums, the green goobers clouding...

Last week I extracted a tampon from a dog’s small intestine. Really. But, to be honest, it was not the tampon that caused the bulk of the problem. The feminine hygiene product’s stringy supplement was mostly to blame, wreaking havoc in my patient’s circuitous digestive apparatus by way of its ability to effectively accordion her bowels. Most people I know that hear this dog-meets-tampon...

It’s been about ten years since I have had to live with a litter box; plenty of time to have conveniently forgotten how annoying and repulsive they’re wont to be. I kind of liken it to the same sort of magical thinking that so frequently seems to befall women who give birth more than once. In the latter case, I swear there’s an amnesia hormone to blame. Why else would anyone go through...

A recent post on VeterinarianTechnician.org about ten veterinarians who made history got me to thinking who’d I’d include in my top ten. And one thing’s for certain: My top-ten would look significantly different than those listed on their website. Not that I disagree with them all — but I won’t say which! Here’s their list:1. Bernhard Lauritz Frederik Bang...