Friendship Dermatology Specialists

07/03/2018

Happy Tuesday, folks. We'd like you to join us in being as equally obsessed with Storm as we are! She's been stealing hugs and kisses from our staff since she walked through our doors! Maybe one of her ears picks up wi-fi!

06/27/2018

Hello, friends! Sorry we’ve been MIA for a while; it’s been a busy few months for our department! We wanted to wish you all a happy Wednesday and introduce you to Buddy, a 1.5-year-old Chihuahua mix rescued from a South Carolina shelter by a human who adores him. His human brought him in to see Dr. Lee in April for extreme generalized itchiness and hair loss (especially around the eyes). Cytology slides did not show obvious infections, only inflammation, which suggested that itch was likely secondary to allergies. Flea allergies can cause acute flares of itch, but the locations (like the eyes and paws) do not fit well with this allergy alone, but heartworm/flea/tick prevention would be continued. Food allergy was also a possibility but less likely given the acute nature of the flare and age of onset; a diet trial was declined. Environmental allergy remained a diagnosis of exclusion but was considered most likely for Buddy based on the age of onset and location of his lesions.

Our first goal was to get Buddy more comfortable, and then further workup environmental allergy in the future with skin testing. Different prescription systemic medications were discussed, and Apoquel was elected for itch control. We’re still adjusting this medication right now, but already, the before and after photo of Buddy shows his amazing progress! Even the ears are more adorable! Allergies can never be cured, so we’ll keep working with Buddy and his human to help control them.

04/10/2018

Wash Away Your (Skin) Troubles - Friendship Hospital for Animals

Take a look at an article Dr. Lee wrote about bathing your pets!

Bathing your pet can be important for reasons like general hygiene, the occasional unexpected mud bath, and de-skunking. Some pet owners may be surprised to know that for certain medical reasons, like bacterial infections, your veterinarian may prescribe a medicated shampoo as part of the treatment....

04/05/2018

Hi, folks! Happy Thursday! The Friendship Dermatology Specialists would like to update that courtesied allergy consults for initial dermatology patients have been extended through April 30! Call 202-363-7300 or email us at [email protected] to schedule your appointment.

04/05/2018

Say hello to one of our fluffiest patients! Several months ago, Meisha became itchy and started losing hair on her thighs. Despite several treatments (particularly targeting ringworm), there was no improvement. Meisha’s human brought her in to see Dr. Lee. Initial diagnostics (ex. cytology) did not show obvious infection.

Given Meisha's breed, age, and distribution of her lesions, Dr. Lee was most suspicious of pemphigus foliaceus (PF), an immune-mediated disease that targets the skin. The reason animals develop PF is not always known (no obvious drug or vaccine trigger in Meisha's case), so management is typically aimed at suppressing the immune system, starting with steroids. Second-line medications (ex. azathioprine, cyclosporine, mycophenolate) are often needed in dogs because of the side effects of steroids. Monitoring with bloodwork is crucial to ensure safe usage of these medications.

Biopsy confirmed PF for Meisha, and she is almost in remission. Below, you’ll see before treatment and after treatment photos of Meisha! We'll continue to follow-up with her owner to try and taper medications.

02/28/2018

Say hello to a lovable dachshund named Pancho! You can't see it in these still photos, but he is constantly wagging and looking for his next friend. His humans were referred by Dr. Spencer (twin brother of our internist Dr. Spencer) to Friendship Dermatology Specialists for a 3-4 month history of crusts and hair loss on the tips of Pancho's ears that were not responding to treatment.

Dr. Spencer and Dr. Lee both suspect that Pancho has a condition called ear margin seborrhea, a disease that is more common in dachshunds. The cause is unknown, so biopsy is technically required for definitive diagnosis. Initial slide diagnostics made other diseases (ex. infections) less likely. Given the classic appearance and breed association, we often start with empirical treatment, so an additional topical (tacrolimus) and oral (pentoxifylline) medication were prescribed to hopefully minimize inflammation of and improve blood flow to the ear tips. If Pancho responds well to these medications, we will attempt to taper to the lowest possible dose and frequency. We hope to hear/see a wagging update from him soon!

02/06/2018

Winter Tips for Your Pet's Paws - Friendship Hospital for Animals

Winter Tips for Your Pet's Paws - Friendship Hospital for Animals

Winter Tips for Your Pet’s Paws We’re all waiting for spring, but in case March comes in like a lion, we wanted to share some pet paw winter safety tips. The New York Times recently noted the desire to “winterize” our dogs with clothes. Not every dog will tolerate boots, and not every dog wi...

01/18/2018

Happy Thursday, friends! It’s almost the weekend! Here’s an adorable collage of one of our doctor's (Dr. McMurphy, Primary Care and dentals) newest additions, Pickle!

01/15/2018

LOOK!! CJ's in PJs! 😍🤓 We hope this photo cheers you up and gets rid of those Monday blues! #DogsOfFacebook #CJsInPJs (photo courtesy of CJ's human.)

01/08/2018

Good morning and happy new year, friends! We hope you enjoyed your holidays. To brighten your Monday and to help you (temporarily) forget about the frigid temperatures, here are several photos of our furry friends that our amazing clients have shared!

12/21/2017

Happy Holidays from the Dermatology department! (And Fraser!) Stay safe and keep warm! 🎅🏼 🦌 🎄 #happyholidays

12/07/2017

It's Thursday! You know what that means! Quick #throwback to this adorable beast's first day seeing the Dermatology department!! Bruce is doing well after seeing Dr. Lee last month! Look at those paws! #BruceThePitty #ProgressPhoto #ThrowBackThursday #FriendshipDermatologySpecialists

11/29/2017

Meet Fraser! Several weeks ago, Dr. Carr, his primary vet, noted non-itchy bumps over most of his body. Dr. Carr submitted a fine needle aspirate from several of the bumps to our clinical pathologist (Dr. Romsland), and there were an unusually high number of a particular type of white blood cell (lymphocyte). Fraser was referred to one of our dermatologists (Dr. Lee) for further workup. Dr. Lee and Fraser's human discussed some possible reasons for the bumps, including, but not limited to: infectious, inflammatory, or (less likely) cancer. The diagnosis based on biopsy was reactive histiocytosis. Previous bloodwork and imaging performed for other reasons did not support a systemic problem, so this was further classified as cutaneous reactive histiocytosis (CRH), which is limited to the skin. CRH is an inflammatory disease, and the trigger is not always known. Treatment typically involves immunomodulation/immunosuppression, depending on the severity of disease. We expect that Fraser will respond well to treatments over time.

11/22/2017

Hello, everyone! We wanted to wish you all a Happy (and safe!) Thanksgiving with this super cute photo of our past patient, Toodie! Her human sent us this adorable photo of her in the bathtub (we're positive it kept her cool during the hot summer months!)

10/18/2017

Meet Blueberry! He's stolen the hearts of every single member of the Dermatology team (and even other departments)! Unrelated to his dermatologic condition, Blueberry was likely born with cerebellar hypoplasia, which affects his motor function. Since adoption, he also had chronic brown debris in the right ear despite medications. Both his primary veterinarian and his dermatologist (Dr. Lee) suspected an inflammatory polyp was hiding in his right ear. Confirmation often requires a combination of advanced imaging, video otoscopy, and histopathology. Treatment can include removal via manual traction (pulling through the ear canal) or via a ventral bulla osteotomy (VBO = surgery).

10/11/2017

Meet Hurley! Several months ago, Hurley's human noticed one of his nails had partially fallen off. Despite antibiotics to prevent infection and pain medication to ease discomfort, Hurley's nails continued to fall off. Continue to the next few photos to learn more about SLO!

09/25/2017

Friendship Hospital for Animals

Friendship Hospital for Animals

Does your pet constantly have small bumps, red bumps, or scabs and are itchy? Read hear to learn about Pyoderma and how FHA's Dermatology Specialists can help!

09/07/2017

Meet Gus, an 8 year old Labrador retriever, who came in with a fever and back pain approximately two weeks ago. After examination and discussion between the Urgent Care department and the dermatology department, it was determined that a bath was the cause of his extreme discomfort! Gus received a bath 2 days prior to presenting to the Urgent Care department. A biopsy was performed for a definitive diagnosis of the suspected underlying cause - a condition called post grooming furunculosis. This is a deep skin infection that occurs from contaminated shampoo products, contaminated water, or the use of rough bathing tools or technique (such as vigorous brushing of a damp coat or scrubbing the hair coat against the direction of hair growth). Symptoms tend to show up rather quickly and are found on the back of dogs (where grooming products are commonly placed). The infection is most commonly caused by the bacteria called Pseudomonas aeruginosa - an organism that loves water environments. Because of this association, most affected dogs have a history of grooming, bathing, scrubbing, or rough toweling two days prior to symptoms (range 1-7 days).

09/03/2017

Pets Deserve Evidence-Based Medicine, Too, Says The SkeptVet

Pets Deserve Evidence-Based Medicine, Too, Says The SkeptVet

Veterinarian Brennen McKenzie writes The SkeptVet, a blog that pushes for evidence-based medicine instead of relying on tradition, anecdotes or pseudoscience in the treatment of cats and dogs.

08/31/2017

Your Dog Doesn’t Need The Gluten-Free Menu

Check out a recently published article by veterinary nutritionists about feeding your pet foods that contain grains.

Before scrolling down and reading the blog below (where you will discover many truths about gluten), I want you to take a few moments to think about what exactly gluten is. I’m not asking you to think about what foods contain gluten. I’m also not asking you to think about what symptoms are caused […...

08/28/2017

1. You can see Anthony had a moderate amount of dandruff on his inner ear flaps, especially at the tips.
2. He also had significant dandruff on his back.
3. A tape cytology of the dandruff was negative for Cheyletiella mites.
4. Anthony listened to the discussion closely and will try to vacuum as much as possible (or at least convince his human to do so).

08/24/2017

Check out Whiner's approximate 2 month progress (the B&A photos). His human sent us a photo of him yesterday; he wasn't too happy to wear the bandana, as his facial expression reveals, but he's resting comfortably.
BEFORE: Only the front right paw is shown in the above photo but all four paws were affected. The central and digital paw pads were swollen with associated thick crusts and underlying ulcers. There was also a tremendous infection causing pain and additional inflammation.
AFTER: Again, only the right front paw is shown but all four paw pads were smooth with no ulcers and minimal superficial crust ~2 months later. Some litter was stuck between the toes. The nail beds were normal with no ulcers, crusts, or redness.

08/23/2017

Friendship Hospital for Animals

Friendship Hospital for Animals

Post grooming furunculosis? That doesn't sound fun! It's a deep skin infection that occurs quickly, usually on the backs of dogs. Haven't heard of it before - make sure to read about it here!

08/18/2017

Grain-free pet foods are no healthier, vets say. Focus on this nutrition issue instead.

Grain-free pet foods are no healthier, vets say. Focus on this nutrition issue instead.

In pet food marketing, “claims like no gluten, no grains, and no soy generally mean no science.”

08/17/2017

Join our board-certified veterinary dermatologists, Drs. Darcie Kunder and Fiona Lee, to learn about different types of pet allergies, how to tell them apart and how to manage them.
Location: Friendship Hospital for Animals (2nd floor)
When: September 30th, 2017
Time: 1-3PM

08/16/2017

Why I’m Not Going Coco-Nuts for Coconut Oil!

Here's an interesting article about coconut oil!

Without a doubt, people’s abundant love for coconut oil has made its way into the pet nutrition realm. People go Coco-Nuts for coconut oil! So why am I not going Coco-Nuts? Let me tell you. Let’s look at the nutrient profile of coconut oil and focus in on essential fatty acids for dogs and cats. […]

08/09/2017

A few weeks ago, we posted photos of a canine IDAT. Today, we'd like to welcome our newest feline model: Mrs. Danvers, a sweet and quiet tripod! (Mrs. Danvers was involved in a car accident when she was younger and needed to have one of her hind legs amputated. This doesn't stop her from living her life to the fullest!)

08/09/2017

Meet curious Bevyn! She joined the Dermatology team in reading medical records and learning more about her skin condition.

08/07/2017

Meet Charlie, a very energetic chocolate Labrador retriever! A few months ago, Charlie's human noticed he was lethargic (which is unusual for Charlie) with swelling under his left eye, crusts on the inner flaps of his ears, and a subcutaneous mass on his left shoulder. He was seen by Dr. Moore, one of our dedicated Urgent and Primary Care doctors, who initiated diagnostics and treatments. Because Charlie was not improving, Dr. Moore referred him to Dr. Lee in Dermatology for further workup of suspected sterile nodular panniculitis (SNP), an uncommon immune-mediated disease that causes inflammation of the fat (usually limited to the skin but can cause problems elsewhere). Biopsy and cultures are needed to confirm SNP, but these results can take days to weeks for confirmation. Because Charlie had a fever and an open draining tract, treatment needed to be initiated sooner; many fine needle aspirates (FNA) of lymph nodes and nodules were submitted to our clinical pathologist, Dr. Romsland. No obvious infectious organisms were seen on the FNA slides, so a low dose of steroids was started pending other diagnostic results. Biopsy confirmed panniculitis, special stains were negative, and all cultures were negative. Charlie's human diligently followed steroid taper instructions, and Charlie is now only on a tapering course of Atopica (another immunosuppressive medication) while monitoring for recurrence. The following photos document Charlie's improvement.