The completion of Bridge Referrals Veterinary Referral Centre brings a new approach to advanced animal care in the North East   Bridge Referrals have completed the final stage of the development work at their state of the art veterinary referral centre at Boldon Colliery. This brings the total level of investment from the Bridge Referrals team to £3.6 million over the last 24 months. The completion of this ultra modern referral centre greatly increases the availability of high quality care for pets in the North East of England. The Bridge Referrals team have now created over 60 new jobs, attracted…

Following on from the last Cardiology blog, I thought it would be good to tell the story about Frank and his very loud murmur.    Frank is a 2 ½ year old Olde English Bulldog. A grade 1-2/6 murmur on the right side was heard when he was about 1 year old but he had no obvious clinical issues and apart from some orthopaedic problems he was a happy dog. This had increased to a grade 3 last month and was referred to us for an assessment.  Happy Frank When I saw Frank he was a bright and happy dog.…

I've detected a murmur - What should be my next step?   One of the most common inquiries I receive pertains to when an animal with a murmur should be referred. Consequently, I've compiled a concise blog post on the subject. Let's start by understanding what a murmur actually signifies. Under normal circumstances, blood flow through the heart is smooth (laminar). However, any disruption to this flow causes it to become turbulent (non-laminar), resulting in vibrations that manifest as sounds—these are the murmurs we detect on the surface of our patients. Therefore, it's crucial to identify what could cause such…

Cataracts, what are they? Our Ophthalmic team at Bridge Referrals have created a Cataracts blog providing valuable information and support to give to pet owners facing this issue. What is a cataract?  A cataract is an abnormal opacity or clouding of the lens or lens capsule which can give the eye a white appearance. They are caused by a change in the structure of the lens material. Normally the lens is a transparent structure which enables light to pass to the back of the eye to form an image on the retina. When a cataract develops light can no longer…

Bridge Referrals are delighted to announce that they carried out a successful treatment for a brain tumour in a cat by performing an Craniectomy. This procedure was the accumulation of a treatment plan that involved a multidisciplinary approach from six departments (Neurology, Oncology, Ophthalmology, Internal Medicine, Soft Tissue Surgery and Diagnostic Imaging). A craniectomy is a surgical procedure in which a portion of the skull is removed temporarily or permanently to allow access to the brain. This procedure is not often performed in the veterinary world. Violet Meet the splendid Violet. She presented to our Neurology Department with sudden onset…