Dr. Keith A. Bailey is a second-generation veterinarian who also has a son in veterinary school, expected to graduate in 2013. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, he has been a general practitioner in small animal medicine and surgery since 1984. His is a one doctor family practice where Dr. Bailey enjoys keeping up with current knowledge. Embracing modern technology is one of his hobbies and he was one of the first VSLS certified laser surgeons. Laser therapy was a natural progression for his passion in medicine.
I am very thankful for the privilege of being the first to post on the new Companion Website blog. After more than a quarter-of-a-century in practice, the Companion Animal Therapy Laser has helped me to find my favorite niche in medicine.
I had been studying about laser therapy for several years before I was actually given the opportunity to try it. I remember a clinician in college (who still teaches) trying to heal a lick granuloma with a laser pointer in 1983. Intriguing, but not very effective. When I started using laser surgery a decade ago it was very obvious that there was additional healing effect adjacent to the incision or ablated area. Just exactly why it did this was a mystery until a few years ago when I started reading hundreds of papers, abstracts, and clinical studies on laser therapy from all over the world.
Understanding laser theory doesn’t make it work any better but it does make you think of trying it on some of the most obscure cases. For example, last week I was presented with an eight-year-old Chihuahua which had had a stroke a month earlier. It had been deteriorating and was now anorectic and depressed. After only one session the little guy was up and walking and actually jumped on the couch when they got home. After a second session he is clinically normal and eating well.
In discussing laser therapy with other doctors, I always give this piece of advice, “when that animal enters the room, ask yourself one question, ‘is there an inflammatory condition in this patient which does not involve the eye?’. If so … this is a laser case!”
What did you laser for the chihuahua?
I lasered the entire calvarium using 10W continuous wave with the large contact ball. It was a tan Chihuahua and I dosed empirically at 600J. Keep it moving, aiming for the base of the brain. I now use the laser as my sole treatment for epilepsy as the results have been excellent in my experience. The rationale and a full explanation are too complicated for this space.