Soft Tissue

A three-year-old Doberman presented to us at West Midlands Referrals with a large hygroma, fluid filled sac over the lateral elbow.

Panda was in heart failure secondary to fluid accumulation within the sac around the heart. The squeeze of this fluid on the heart prevented the heart from filling properly and from pumping blood efficiently. This had led to the accumulation of fluid elsewhere in the body, including within the abdomen.

Nibble had a rannula, a collection of saliva under mucosa, that formed after a rostral mandibulectomy to remove the front of the jaw. The rannula was marsupialised, opening it into the mouth cavity so that it could drain.

Georgie had a lateral wall resection (LWR) for recurrent otitis externa, external ear infection. The aim of this surgery is to increase the ventilation to the depths of the ear canal and make the environment less atrtractive to the bacterial pathogens that can otherwise colonise it.

Gizmo had a penile obstruction caused by urethral calculi (mineral deposits). These were a little trickier than usual to spot as they were radiolucent meaning they don’t show up on radiographs unless contrast agent is used to highlight them.

A 7 year old neutered male Staffie presented to us at West Midlands Referrals with a urethral prolapse resected and sutured around a catheter. The catheter was then removed. The prognosis is generally very good for these cases.

Lucy, a 6y female Border Collie, presented to us at West Midlands Referrals with worryingly low glucose levels caused by an insulinoma, a pancreas tumour.

Wickett, an elderly cat, had progressive constipation and needed enemas every 2-3 weeks.  We removed the lion’s share of his colon at our state-of-the-art practice in Burton-Upon-Trent, and he’s now recuperating. Early indications are good; these surgeries carry a significant perioperative mortality rate.

Chris joined our team in 2019 in Burton-Upon-Trent, and we’ve been pretty impressed with his skills with an endoscope! He has removed a number of grass seeds from secondary and tertiary bronchi. These cases usually present with chronic coughs and sometimes signs of grumbling infection and fever.

Louis, a 1year old Springer Spaniel, presented to us at West Midlands Referrals with a massive palate defect. We are frankly amazed that he had managed to survive puppyhood. Drinking milk is no easy task when you can’t make a seal in your mouth to suck.