20 Jan 2022
Team at Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service treats three-year-old spaniel after he suffered a traumatic injury during a walk with his owner.
Joshua Silverwood
Job Title
A spaniel left with a gaping wound in its chest after going for run with its owner has been saved by vets at a West Midlands practice.
Three-year-old Alby was unable to move after suffering the traumatic injury that left him needing to be carried down a hill before being rushed to the vets.
Alby’s wounds were so deep that he was referred to Willows Veterinary Centre and Referral Service in Solihull after his owners took him for a walk where they believe he leapt over a rock formation with a stick pointed upwards.
Soft tissue specialist Will Robinson took charge of Alby’s case after he was made stable by a local practice that referred him on to the specialist centre.
Dr Robinson, an RCVS and European specialist in small animal surgery, said: “He was struggling with his breathing and a pneumothorax was discovered that required drainage.
“We took him to surgery to explore his chest cavity to see if any foreign material was present and to find out if there was any significant damage to the organs in his chest causing the continued air leakage.“
Dr Robinson added: “Alby was anaesthetised by our specialist anaesthesia team and taken to theatre where an approach was made through his sternum.
“A wound could be found between two of the ribs, but, luckily for Alby, no significant damage to the organs or foreign material was discovered. The wound was closed and Alby was moved to recover in our dedicated intensive care unit for the following 36 hours.
“Alby was then allowed home under strict instructions to rest to allow his sternum to heal, and the good news is he is recovering really well and has shown no adverse effects from the initial injury.”
Alby has now made a full recovery and was discharged back to his home in Sheffield after being kept for a period of observation.
