In 2005, the Texas Veterinary Board adopted findings of fact in a case against Texas Veterinarian Stanley Wolfe, which included the following:
"On August 19, 2003, [an owner] of Wylie, Texas presentd the patient, his two and a half year-old pregnancy cat, "Itty Bitty Kitty," to the Parker Road Veterinary Clinic in Wylie, Texas for an ovariohysterectomy . . . [Wolfe] performed the surgery on the patient."
". . . During surgery, [Wolfe] placed several gauze pads in the incision to keep the intestine in the peritoneal cavity during exteriorization of the uterus."
"During the surgery, life-threatening complications arose, including a drop in oxygen saturation, apnea, hemorrhaging, a drop in body temperature, and severe bradycardia. [Wolfe] closed the incision, and the patient was placed on an electric heating pad following surgery."
"The patient died around 6:00 p.m., four to five hours after the surgical procedure ."
[OK, here comes the rub:]
"During and following surgery, [Wolfe] failed to catheterize the patient, to provide intravenous fluid therapy, or to provide any other method of delivering fluids to the patient. Such fluid therapy was essential to maintain the patient's blood pressure and to prevent shock when the hemorraging occurred."
Wolfe's "records do not mention catheterization attempts and do not state the reasons for [his] failure to initiate fluid therapy during or after surgery."
Wolfe "left two gauze pads in the area of the patient's left kidney and ovary."
The outcome of this shocking tale is that the Texas Board issued a "formal reprimand" to Wolfe and fined him $1,000. Is that enough?
Poor itty bitty kitty. R.I.P.
