Dr. Pat Hougland should not be performing orthopedic surgery. PLEASE, DO NOT ALLOW HER PERFORM SURGERY ON YOUR PET.
My sweet greyhound broke his leg when he fell down our stairs 12/18/20. Hougland performed surgery on him 12/19/20 & sent me X-rays of the fix. I was SO happy. I picked him up on 12/21/20. Do you know that gut instinct that says something isn't right? I should have followed it. My dog came out of the back to the lobby with an elastic bandage wrap and a woman's female maxi pad as the bandage inside the wrap. Yes, you read it right (Keith, the tech said they are cheaper and absorbent). I asked the tech (Keith) about why his leg looked a bit angled. He, then Hougland confirmed it was "just very swollen". Fast forward 3 days to 12/24/20. Each day my dog seemed more anxious, in pain, and he wouldn't eat. We took him to our vet. They immediately knew things were very wrong. They re-wrapped it to stabilize & started trying to find orthopedic help. (This is Xmas week! Impossible!) We ended up in the animal ER that night (re-wrapped from blood, and stronger pain meds) and again on Christmas. My dog was in such horrific pain, that they had to sedate him. Fortunately, the Vet on the Board of the ER animal hospital was able to get us in at Purdue University ER/Orthopedics (3 hours away). He was admitted into ICU & stayed there for 2 weeks. TWO WEEKS. We now know, all of this could have been prevented. Dr. Pat Hougland used incorrect hardware and placement into the bone (& unsanitary conditions). The hardware was too small for him, and the incorrect placement could not hold his weight. The metal plate bent/collapsed & came through the incision and exposed the bone and allowed MRSP infection to set in. Can you even imagine the horrific agony my boy was feeling? I found out that Hougland does know about his condition. The adoption agency called her. I also learned from my vet that her Ottawa office phoned them and asked for his records. Why has she or no one phoned us? Why didn't anyone ask us how he was?
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