S-3
It’s not technically difficult. I have trained all my staff
to do it, including kennel staff. We have used the unit for 6 weeks and we have generated $5100 in that time.
As I said, I was very skeptical, but
we have seen some dramatic responses. We got a LiteCure (we got the 10-watt,
but I returned it for the 12-watt). I think some of the results depend on
what brand and how powerful the laser is and how much time you use it on a patient. Our rep said you can’t over- treat, but you can undertreat. That’s why I upgraded to the more power- ful unit. Some big dogs can take a long time
to treat. Ten to twelve minutes for each area adds up quick if you are doing both hips, some back, and an elbow. The more powerful unit takes about 20% less time. For what it’s worth, a friend of mine,
a board certified veterinary surgeon, sees a number of patients from vets who have lasers, and my friend thinks 70% of musculoskeletal issues improve with laser. We have used it minimally in ears,
skin, a few pancreatitis cases — I am not sure how effective the laser is in these cases as of yet. I did have a Rottie who had horrible
elbow callouses that ulcerated. I’d been treating the dog with antibiotics and elbow pads for about a year and reduced it’s size down from 4 cm diameter to 2 cm — but it has been status quo for the last 6 months. The laser healed that up and the owner is ecstatic. I got a thank-you card from one of my associate’s patients because I
Trends magazine, November/December 2010
bought the laser and it had helped their dog so much. We do some house-call treatments
for downer big dogs and tack on travel time (and charge more for a series of six treatments because they tend to take 45-60 minutes per session). It’s not technically difficult. I have
trained all my staff to do it, but I usu- ally have my best techs go in to do the first treatment to make sure all bases and questions are covered. After that, I have anybody that’s available do the treatments - including kennel staff. We have used the unit for 6 weeks and
we have generated $5100 in that time. One of my tech’s dogs responded amazingly the first treatment, as did one of my staff members (we treated her neck) — so the staff has been very good about talking it up to clients. We now have enough really happy
owners that I am planning on calling contacts at local TV and newspaper to see if I can pitch them on doing a story about it.
Mike Berkenblit, DVM Village Animal Clinic North Palm Beach, FL
Comments courtesy of VetManage-
ment, a listserv for veterinarians. To join, send email to VetManagement-subscribe@
yahoogroups.com. n
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