Cliff fall springer spaniel Finn fine after ops

A springer spaniel that plummeted off a cliff during a trip to the coast has been saved by vets at a Winchester practice following multiple operations.

One-year-old Finn was rushed into Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists, where he underwent two operations to repair the damage caused by the fall.

RCVS and European specialist in surgery Davina Anderson, alongside resident Kate Holroyd, took charge of Finn’s case, which included repairing trauma in and around his badly damaged liver.

Injuries

Dr Anderson said: “When Finn arrived, he was lame on his right pelvic limb, had a wound affecting his stifle joint and had also fractured his patella in the fall.

“We performed a CT scan to examine for internal injuries, and it showed marked damage of the liver tissue due to trauma and suspected hepatic ducts avulsions, which are very rare.

“There were fissure lines throughout the liver where the fall had ‘fractured’ the liver, which is also very unusual.

“There was also abdominal distention secondary to a suspected bile duct rupture, which was leaking bile fluid into the abdomen.”

Two surgeries

Dr Anderson added: “Finn underwent two surgeries to find the source of the leak. In the first surgery, we found a significant leak from a torn hepatic duct – one of the tubes that carries bile from the liver – from a branch from the left medial lobe. The leak was closed with clips and sutures.”

Finn initially appeared to be making a recovery with input from the soft issue, anaesthesia and medicine teams at Anderson Moores, but while at home, his owner spotted he was developing an abdominal effusion again so he was brought back in.

Dr Anderson said: “Surgery was necessary for a second time, on this occasion removing the left medial and lateral liver lobes to stem the leaks. Finn recovered rapidly, and this time he headed home within three days and is now doing very well.”