23 Aug 2024
The two-year-old crossbreed has made a full recovery after clinicians at Davies Veterinary Specialists performed “delicate” surgery to repair a vertebral fracture and dislocation.
Lacey Pitcher
Job Title
A young dog seriously injured in a car crash has started walking again after intricate spinal surgery.
Two-year-old crossbreed Juno, from Berkhampsted, was presented to the team at Davies Veterinary Specialists as an emergency requiring advanced care.
Davies’ neurology clinician Jack Galer took charge of the case and said CT scan images clearly showed Juno had suffered a vertebral fracture and dislocation.
Dr Galer said: “This was a challenging case as Juno urgently needed surgery to repair the spinal fracture.
“First, we needed to reduce the fracture and subluxation of the damaged vertebra, and then stabilise it with screws and bone cement.
“It is very intricate, delicate work. The main challenge is placing the screws within the bone without entering the vertebral canal, as the ‘safe’ corridors to achieve this are very narrow.”
However, the operation went extremely well and Juno is now back to he normal self.
Dr Galer added: “The screw placement was good, with no breach of the vertebral canal and stabilisation was successfully achieved with the screws and bone cement.
“Happily, Juno has been able to return to normal activity and has undergone postoperative physiotherapy and hydrotherapy to complete her recovery and rehabilitation.”
