• Ear nose and throat surgery

Laryngeal paralysis commonly affects larger breed dogs that are usually relatively old. The cause is usually not identified.

• Urogenital surgery

At West Midlands Referrals we see male cats that get obstructed urinary tracts with mineral deposits that usually form in their bladders. These then get flushed out with urine, only to get stuck towards the level of the penis at the point where the urethra narrows. The urethra is the tube connecting the bladder to the outside.

• Hernias and ruptures

A young pup of 3-4 months of age presented with exercise intolerance and increased respiratory effort. A specialist cardiologist had diagnosed peritoneal-pericardial herniation and the pup’s vets referred him on to us for corrective surgery.

• Ear nose and throat surgery

Ben, an elderly male dog initially presented with partial obstruction of the larynx caused by paralysis of the vocal folds that caused stress-related collapse and exercise intolerance. The problem was initially addressed with a “tie back” surgical procedure (see separate article in this section, and our post-operative care sheet for tie-backs in the section for owners).