Long Island Veterinary Specialists to the Rescue

3 of LIVS best surgeons! (Image Courtesy of: http://www.livs.org)

Long Island Veterinary Specialists is a state of the art, 24 hour critical care facility located in Plainview, New York on the service road of exit 46 on the Long Island Expressway.  LIVS has several different departments to cater to your pet’s individual needs.  Dermatology, oncology, internal medicine, opthalmology, radiology, exotics, neurology, surgery and of course critical care are among the many specialties at LIVS.

Recently, my kitten Archie was going in for a routine surgery with Dr. Carver, a soft tissue/uro-genital surgeon at LIVS.  He unfortunately had a very severe and rare reaction to the anesthesia used to sedate him.  Archie went into a full cardiac arrest, but was successfully resuscitated and intubated, to help him oxygenate. Dr. Carver immediately called the cardiologist to check Archie’s heart, as this type of reaction is often a sign of an underlying heart condition. After a thorough echo cardiogram, it was determined that Archie’s heart was completely normal. Archie was placed in the Intensive Care Unit in an oxygen cage. That night, his breathing tube was removed and was able to breath completely on his own. The next morning, Archie was able to eat and use the bathroom. During the day, Archie was able to be moved out of an oxygen cage and eventually out of the ICU all together. While his vision continued to be limited (as it is often the last thing to fully come back after going into a full arrest), his condition otherwise continued to improve. As I write this, Archie is still at LIVS and hopefully will be able to return home tomorrow night. I am thankful for the people at LIVS for saving Archie’s life and for calling me every step of the way to let me know exactly what was happening as it was happening. Thanks to them I will have Archie back at home soon!

For further information about LIVS and their available services, please visit their website.

Update:  Archie is home and doing amazing!  After a few days of rest he is back to his usual self again!