Rusty

Dog attack and Trauma Survivor

Brave Rusty came to us after he had been attacked by another dog. He was in shock from the trauma
and had sustained a broken jaw. After spending a night on fluids and hardcore pain relief we were
able to take X-rays of Rusty’s head. Radiographs revealed not only 1, but 2 fractures to Rusty’s lower
jaw! Not only had his jaw been broken through the symphysis connecting the left and right sides of
his jaw but also through the corner of his jaw.
To repair these fractures, we had to take a stepwise approach. Rusty had several rotten teeth that
needed to be removed and a severe infection of the bone that needed to be resolved before the
fractures could be repaired. We then called in the big guns. Dr Mark attempted to place a screw in
the symphysis fracture to reconnect the left and right sides. A bone plate was placed along the
length of the mandible to stabilise this fracture. Unfortunately, the bone plate fell out not only once,
but twice!
Repeat X-rays were performed. These Xrays showed that Rusty’s jaw was still broken down the
middle with a small section of normal bone containing his canine tooth. The remainder of his jaw
had dissolved and been replaced by rubbery scar tissue. Upon consultation with a specialist
orthopaedic vet, we decided to remove Rusty’s entire jaw. Dr Kiri removed the remainder of the
bone plate and screws. She then removed Rusty’s jaw from his lip and tongue musculature and
sutured the deficit closed.
Rusty has recovered well from his procedures and is now at home, eating up all the attention!

Katie

Infected polyps on ear removal

Poor Katie has had ear problems for a very VERY long time. She came to us at Kooringal after another Vet had tried to surgically fix her ear FOUR times. Katie had massive polyps growing in her ear canal that essentially caused her ear to fold into itself and completely blocked her ear canal. The polyps were full of wax and infection from being so large.

Super surgeon Dr Mark had to take drastic measures with this one. He removed the polyps from the surface of the ear pinna (the flappy bit on the outside). He then removed the remaining ear canal that was so inflamed the cartilage had turned into calcified bone! The incision was closed with lots of tiny stitches so that Katie’s floppy ear now sticks up straight.

Miss Katie is doing very well now and although she can’t hear from the repaired side, it doesn’t stop her going out on the town with her mum!

Screama

Severe corneal ulcer and pus

Mr Screama was poked in the eye by his housemate. Although the hole had closed over, Screama developed a severe corneal ulcer and pus in the anterior chamber of his eye. A corneal ulcer is when the first layer on the surface of the eye gets grazed and infected but in Screama’s case this ulcer was so deep there was only 1 layer of cells stopping it from rupturing!

Unfortunately, Screama only had one option; to have his eye removed. Dr Kiri performed the eye ablation by removing both of Scream’s eyelids and all of the tissue in between including his eyeball. She then placed a gauze swab in the remaining socket and sutured the eyelids together.

Screama is recovering nicely. We think Screama would be a great pirate. What do you think?

Major

Gastrostomy- Unchewed chunks of boned steak removal

Little Major is one of our beautiful puppy preschool students. His mum noticed that he was very bloated and not eating after school and brought him to our emergency clinic. Vet nurse Martika took some Xrays showing a HUGE stomach with signs of a foreign body obstruction. This meant it was time for some emergency surgery!

Major was put on intravenous fluids and anesthetised for his procedure. Dr Kiri opened the abdomen and pulled the stomach out. She then made an incision into the stomach (called a gastrostomy) and removed big, unchewed chunks of boned steak. She then sutured the incision closed and zipped the abdomen back up.

Major was a little quiet for 24 hours but with some antibiotics and Gaviscon, he is now back to his naughty self!

Libbi's Episioplasty

Libbi had to undergo Episioplasty

Poor Libbi has come to us a few times with urinary tract problems. The poor thing had so much skin around her girly bits that the urine was pooling between the skin folds and giving her nasty infections. Ohh nasty!

The only way to solve this problem is to give her a rear facelift. Dr Kiri performed an episioplasty. The excess skin was removed in a circle around her vulva and the incision closed to expose her girly bits.

Libbi has recovered well and has not had any further infections since her procedure. She and her mum are “relieved” with the results!

Tick-venture

It was a tick-venture for Miss Snow White

Miss Snow White went for a fabulous trip to the coast with dad over the weekend. Unfortunately, she came back with a little stow-away on her chin. A paralysis tick!

Miss Snow White couldn’t walk when she came to visit us and couldn’t even wag her tail in hello! Dr Sharlet was quick to identify the tick and start Miss Snow White on intravenous fluids, steroids and tick antivenom. After a night in the hospital, she was able to wag her tail and walk around the clinic, although she was very stumbly on her feet as though she’d been on a bender.

Miss Snow White has completely recovered from her run-in with a paralysis tick and her dad is going to make sure she gets a tick preventive before their next trip away to the beach.

Buddy

Buddy had Gallbladder mucocele

Chocco

Chocco was vomiting for almost two years

Koby had 11 stones

Koby had 11 stones

Koby presented to KVH with pain in the abdomen. X-rays of his abdomen revealed 3 bladder stones contained within the bladder and 8 stones which were lodged in the urethra which were preventing him from being able to urinate. The stones needed to be surgically removed in order to allow him to urinate normally and to make him pain-free. They are now on their way to the Minnesota urolith centre in the United States of America for special analysis to identify their chemical composition which will allow a healthcare plan to be tailored specially for Koby to prevent the stones from recurring. There are many factors which predispose a patient to develop bladder stones including stress, urinary infection, diet and genetic disorders, and depends on the stone type.

Maggie

Maggie ate a snail bait

Maggie presented on Saturday night after the owner had noticed her shaking with muscle tremors, very nervous and over-reactive to stimuli. A quick inspection from the owner found an open box of snail bait (metaldehyde) which had been eaten by Maggie. Due to Maggie already having symptoms of poisoning which include muscle tremors, dilated pupils, anxiousness, overreaction to stimuli, hyperthermia and in some severe cases seizures and convulsions, the toxin had already been absorbed into her bloodstream and thus it was too late to induce vomiting. Maggie was immediately hospitalised for medical therapy to manage the symptoms of poisoning, minimise damage to her organs and absorb any toxin that remained in the intestines. Thankfully, Maggie's signs remained moderate in severity and she made a full recovery with intensive care over the weekend. In severe cases, however, death can occur as there is no antidote to metaldehyde poisoning. Snail baits generally contain one of two active ingredients - metaldehyde or carbamate. Metaldehyde, in this case, is far more dangerous as there is no antidote to poisoning and depending on the quantity of toxin ingested, can result in death. Patients require intensive care and careful medical management of the symptoms. If snail bait is to be used in your yard, carbamate is the preferred active ingredient as there is an antidote to this toxin, making the prognosis of accidental poisoning better. Signs of carbamate poisoning include excessive drooling, watery eyes, loss of bladder control, muscle tremors, weakness, aggression, seizures and respiratory distress. Unfortunately, snail baits are usually very attractive to dogs so When using snail baits in your yard, it is important to ensure there is a PetSafe barrier or alternatively, keep pets out of areas where snail baits have been placed. When storing the baits, ensure that they are kept out of reach of pets. In Maggie's case, she had found the bait stored in a garden shed and helped herself to it.

Pretzel

Pretzel had lots of pus

We have all seen our cats sad at times and some times it's more than just being sad. It was that situation in Pretzel's case. Pretzel is a 3 years young cat adopted from the pound by a lovely Wagga family. A happy, playful cat since then she was not being herself and was starting to be lethargic and stopped eating. Her family brought her in and there was quick action, starting with a blood test. Her blood test revealed a severe infection so we started with fluids, antibiotics and antipyretic.

Tank

Tank has immune-mediated hemolytic anaemia (IMHA)

Poppy

Poppy's subtotal pinnectomy - ear removal

Poppy, like most cats, loves to sunbake. She presented to the clinic with crusted/ulcerative lesions of both ears. The lesions had the appearance of a cancer called squamous cell carcinoma which commonly occurs in cats on areas with little or no hair such as the nose and ears, especially in cats with light coloured noses (non-pigmented). Squamous cell carcinoma is locally aggressive (spreads extensively in the affected area) leading to severe lesions if left untreated, but has low potential to spread to other parts of the body. Incomplete excision of the cancerous tissue and delayed surgery results in a poor long term prognosis and thus the decision was made to surgically remove both ears for biopsy (excisional biopsy). The biopsy showed early cancerous changes so with the radical treatment, she now has a low chance of the cancer returning. Poppy has made a full recovery following surgery.

Tammy

Tammy is a pyometra survivor

Meet Brave Tammy. She was presented to us this week with purulent discharge from her vulva. Her signs were quickly recognised to be pyometra.

Pyometra is a relatively common life-threatening infection in the uterus which can occur in entire female dogs of any age but is more common in older dogs. The preferred and most effective treatment requires surgical removal of the infected uterus and ovaries and without rapid intervention, the chances of survival are grim. Following surgery, there is a very high chance of survival.

Miss Kitty's Exploratory laparotomy

Miss Kitty's Exploratory laparotomy

Miss Kitty presented weak in the back legs and not able to walk which was caused by a faecal impaction which had resulted in blockage of the large bowel. X-rays and ultrasonography allowed us to determine that the underlying cause of the blockage was a soft tissue mass surrounding the bowel. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a strangulating lipoma, which put simply is a benign fatty tumour that was squeezing the bowel and preventing the faeces from moving through. The mass was surgically removed and weighed a total of 340g, which was about 5% of the cat's total body weight! This allowed her to be able to toilet normally and is now doing well.

Borris - Hit by car survivor

Borris - Hit by car survivor

ACE had twisted stomach

Ace had surgery to untwist his twisted stomach

Cancer cells in female Dog

Female dog mammary gland cancer

Mammary gland carcinoma in a dog which has spread to the lymph nodes and organs of the abdomen and chest. Not only is it important to get your dog's desexed to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but it is also important to prevent mammary tumours. In female dogs desexed before their first heat, the risk of developing mammary tumours is 0.5%. If desexed after their first heat, their risk of mammary tumours increases to 8%. After their second heat, this risk climbs to approximately 25%! About half of all mammary tumours in dogs are malignant and can spread to other parts of the body. In cats, mammary tumours are less common but approximately 85% are malignant. If you notice any suspicious lumps around the nipples of your pets, please seek immediate advice from a veterinarian as delaying examination and the necessary treatment could be deadly.