Bella eats the wrong thing!

Bella, a 3 month old, female, Hungarian Viszla presented after her owner noticed she had been vomiting overnight. She was still bright and happy in herself, but had been vomiting yellow liquid.  During the examination her abdomen was thoroughly palpated and a smooth, solid, round object was felt in her mid abdomen. Together with the fact she is a typical puppy that loves to chew on anything, and that she had vomiting liquid overnight, there was a high suspicion that she had ingested a foreign body and it was partially obstructing the gastrointestinal tract.

Bella was admitted to hospital for an abdominal radiograph to assess the actual size and location of the foreign body. On the abdominal radiograph, there was a solid radiodense object (white area on the xray) in the small intestine. The foreign body was larger than the size of intestine, and it was obstructing the early part of her gastrointestinal tract. Surgery was indicated to remove this foreign body before it caused any further problems. Bella’s owner gave permission to go ahead with the surgery, so an exploratory laparotomy was performed.

Bella was given pre operative pain relief, sedation and placed on intravenous fluids before the surgery. Once Bella was anaesthetised, a qualified nurse monitored and recorded her anaesthetic progress with the aid of devices to check her heart rate, oxygen saturation level and blood pressure measurements.

Once Bella was stable under anaesthetic, surgery was started. A thorough examination of each organ was performed during the operation including: stomach, small and large intestine, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, liver and gall bladder. The foreign body was found in the area of the intestines called the duodenum. A small incision was made and a round rock was removed. The incision was closed with a suture material that will dissolve over time. Bella continued to be monitored during her recovery and the surgeon assessed that she was well enough to be discharged that evening.

Bella's post operative vet checks showed no further vomiting or abdominal problems. She is now grown into a beautiful girl and has gained nearly 20kg since the incident!

We hope she has learned to eat more appropriate items!
 

Moppet has a thyroidectomy

Moppet, a 12 year old domestic short hair cat, is a patient at our surgery.  As we see her regularly and routinely weigh our patients, we noticed that her weight had been steadily decreasing. This was despite the fact that her owner said she was eating more than her other cats and seemed hungry all the time. 

These clinical signs (weight loss with a good appetite) suggested that blood tests should be performed to determine the cause.  Testing revealed hyperthyroidism.  This is a disease that causes the thyroid gland to be overactive.  Cats with hyperthyroidism have increased metabolism, blood pressure and heart rate which in turn can cause secondary heart problems.  This increases the need for energy, hence more food, to maintain the higher blood pressure and heart rate. 

Treatment for hyperthyroidism is generally lifelong medication in the form of tablets, sometimes up to 3 times a day.  Another alternative treatments is transdermal preparations that can be applied to the skin.  Unfortunately, Moppet was not an easy patient to give tablets or to apply medication to the skin.  Because of this, Moppet's owner was given the option of surgical removal of the thyroid glands in preference to ongoing daily medication. 

Moppet's thyroid levels needed to be within normal range prior to surgery being performed.  To do this, medication was required for the month before the operation. 

On the day of surgery, Moppet had a preanaesthetic blood test.  In addition, her calcium levels were checked as the parathyroid gland is situated next to the thyroid gland and it is responsible for regulating calcium.  An intravenous catheter was placed and, under general anaesthetic, the surgery was performed.  The thyroid glands are located on the neck area on either side of the trachea (windpipe).  It is a delicate surgery as the glands are close to many sensitive structures, including nerves, arteries, veins, trachea and the parathyroid glands. 

The surgery went well, both thyroid glands were removed successfully and Moppet had a speedy recovery.  Calcium levels were checked and remained within normal range.  Since the surgery, Moppet has gained some weight and at her next post operative check we will need to check Calcium levels again and her thyroid levels to make sure these have remained normal. 

Moppet is doing well so far since her surgery and we hope she continues to lead a full and active life. 

Digger the guinea pig

Digger, an eight week old guinea pig was brought to the surgery in March this year.  Part of her cage had accidentally dropped on her.  She was unable to use her left hind leg, it was dragging, and her owner was concerned that the leg may be broken.

Digger was examined by Dr. Michelle White.  Her weight was documented, her teeth, eyes, ears and the colour of her gums were checked.  Digger's heart and lungs were auscultated, and her abdomen was palpated.  Her musculoskeletal system was checked, including her spine and all her limbs.  She had sustained no other injuries apart from her left hind leg.  Just below Digger's knee and above her hock there was some swelling of the soft tissues.  It appeared the tibial bone was fractured as it could be moved from side to side.  She was also dragging her foot, with the underside up and was not able to put her foot in to the proper position.  The nerve and blood supplies to the foot were checked and appeared to be adequate enough  for healing to take place. 

Radiographs would have been the next step in the diagnosis. This would allow us to view the fracture and have given us a better idea of the treatment required and a prognosis of how and when the healing may take place.  Unfortunately the owner declined radiographs due to financial constraints.  The client was offered various options as Digger was in pain with a broken leg and our main concern was her welfare.  Digger's owner opted for the treatment of splinting the leg and providing pain relief while the bone was healing.  This was an interesting challenge for us - to stabilise the bone enough that it would heal but also allowing Digger to be able to place that foot correctly and be mobile on that leg.  You cannot tell a guinea pig to "rest up" on that leg.  Other concerns were if she could keep the splint on or whether she would try to nibble it off.  A splint made from a tongue depressor (flat icecream stick) was fashioned to fit her leg correctly and taped in place with micropore.  Too much bandaging would have made the leg difficult to move so just a light scaffolding to keep the bone stable enough to heal was the aim of this treatment.  Pain relief medication was dispensed.

Two weeks later Digger returned for a follow up examination.  Her leg was healing well, she was weight bearing,  placing the foot correctly and carrying on her usual activities.  A small callous around the fracture site confirmed that the bone was healing well and the break was stable.  We were so happy that Digger was running around bright and alert.  Certainly a contrast to the painful little guinea pig dragging her leg only two weeks earlier!  

Bee sting

AKAYA, 8 months old, American Staffordshire Terrier, Female

Some insect stings, most commonly bees & ants, can cause allergic reactions. This is normally seen in the form of a swollen face and lips of the dog. Each case can be completely different and sometimes can be lethal if the allergic reaction affects the breathing system.

Akaya was presented with asymmetrical swelling of the face, lips and ears after spending some time in back yard for the day. It is suspected that she was “playing” with bees and got stung. Most of the time, bee stings are diagnosed from just a clinical sign of facial swelling, rather than by finding an actual sting that is embedded in the skin.

The aim of the treatment is to neutralise the venom by giving combination of anti-histamine and corticosteroid injections. These injections aid in reducing the swelling as well as pain that is caused by the bee sting. Akaya was comfortable about half an hour after her visit to the vets.

Similar reactions can happen with some ingestion of toxins and sometimes with vaccinations. Any severe allergic reaction regardless of the cause should be immediately seen by a veterinarian so that individual treatment can be performed. This treatment will depend on the severity of the reaction and the systems affected.