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The team at Linnaeus-owned Wear Referrals in County Durham has named its new £50,000 neuro-electrophysiology machine ‘Phyllis’ in honour of Dr Phyllis Croft.
Dr Croft OBE (1919-2009) was one of the first veterinary neurologists and her pioneering work, especially into canine epilepsy, helped validate and inspire the modern treatments of today.
Now, the Specialist-led neurology team at Wear Referrals has acted to recognise her incredible contribution by christening its new state-of-the-art neuro-electrophysiology machine in tribute to her.
In addition to electroencephalography (EEG), “Phyllis” enables the diagnosis of nerve disorders with electromyography (EMG) and nerve function tests, retinal disease with electroretinography (ERG) and hearing disorders with brain stem auditory evoked response (BAER).
Wear’s senior neurologist Clare Rusbridge, a European and RCVS Specialist in Veterinary Neurology, said: “Many people may not have heard of Phyllis Croft but she is renowned in veterinary circles.
“I actually had the privilege of meeting her many times and she was a remarkable and inspirational woman.
“Phyllis was a pioneer and trailblazer as a woman and as a vet. She was one of the first women to become a vet, the first to advance to become a vet specialist and I think she was also the first veterinary neurologist.
“Her contribution can’t be underestimated, even today. It is thanks to Phyllis, and women like her, that women like me were ‘allowed’ to go to vet school.”
Clare explained how Phyllis had collaborated with medical experts in human treatment and then translated the skills and expertise to caring for animals.
She added: “Phyllis mainly studied canine neurological conditions with her ground-breaking work and research dating back to 1943 and she was still writing veterinary papers in the 1970s.
“Her focus on epilepsy saw her work alongside electroencephalogram (EEG) specialists diagnosing and treating humans. She learnt how to do EEG and then applied that knowledge and skills to veterinary care for animals.
“Her lifetime’s dedication to the study of epilepsy and brain disease in dogs saw her receive an OBE in 2000. An animal charity, called The Phyllis Croft Foundation for Canine Epilepsy, was also set up in her honour and continues to this day.
“Phyllis was a very special lady and that’s why I thought it would be fitting to name the new machine after her.
“I’m delighted that my colleagues here at Wear Referrals readily agreed to the idea to honour her and her great legacy of veterinary work and achievement in this way.”
Fabio Stabile, head of neurology at Wear Referrals, said the new neuro-electrophysiology machine was a cutting-edge addition to the high-quality care and treatment delivered by the hospital’s renowned neurology team.
He said: “Phyllis will help us to accurately determine injuries to the nerves or nerve roots, as well as diseases of the nerves and muscles.
“It will be a huge help in diagnosing and treating our neurological patients suffering from weakness or collapse and unusual or unexplained lameness.
“We can also use it to determine if a dog has visual impairments due to eye or brain disease, investigate hearing loss and inform treatment of dogs presenting with seizure disorders especially life-threatening status epilepticus.”
Beth Worth, neurology nurse team leader at Wear, added: “In addition to the extraordinary diagnostic work that Phyllis will aid our vets with, she will also enable our nurses to perform BAER tests on patients.
“This hearing test will allow breeders and owners alike to bring their pets to us for assessment of potential auditory issues. We hope to develop the nurse-led clinic in the near future and we are excited to be able to offer this service.”
Wear specialises in providing expert multidisciplinary care, including anaesthesia, cardiology, diagnostic imaging, intensive care, internal medicine, neurology, OOH emergency and critical care, oncology, orthopaedics and soft tissue.
For more information of Wear Referrals, visit https://www.wear-referrals.co.uk or search for them on social media.