8 Nov 2022
Team at Beech House Veterinary Centre perform four-hour operation on Jack Russell brought into the practice with its bottom jaw completely snapped off after being attacked by another dog.
James Westgate
Job Title
Miniature Jack Russell puppy George, who has made a full recovery after having his jaw bitten off in an attack by another dog, with Beech House vet Nick Whieldon, VN Jess Lawson and owner Greg McCosker. Image: Mandy Jones.
A veterinary team at a Warrington-based practice performed “challenging” emergency surgery on a puppy that lost most of its jaw in an attack by another dog.
Miniature Jack Russell terrier George was rushed to Beech House Veterinary Centre in Stockton Heath, where the clinical team operated for four hours to rebuild his jaw with the aid of pins and an external metal cage.
George’s mandible had been completely snapped off during the attack and was found to be hanging by skin on both sides once vets removed the muzzle to reveal the full extent of his horrific injuries.
Orthopaedic surgeon Nick Whieldon said: “Treatment was always going to be challenging, but we decided to reconstruct the bone of the jaw using a frame built around both sides of the face.
“It took quite some time and was complicated by the fact some pieces of the bone had broken off, rather like trying to put together an incomplete jigsaw puzzle.
“After the bone was repaired, we had to reconstruct the damaged soft tissues around the bone and inside the mouth. This was again painstaking, but the result was as good as we could have wished for.”
According to head nurse Nikki Butterworth, the team at Beech House had “never seen anything to this extent”, but despite the ordeal, George made a swift recovery following surgery.
Miss Butterworth added: “Over the next six weeks, he actually healed really well. He was only nine months old at the time and his owner was really good at keeping him still. Once it was healed, he had to have another operation to remove the fixator and the pins.
“He may need to have some teeth removed in the future as he matures, but otherwise he looks great and everything is fine, and he was happy to come back and see us. You wouldn’t know anything had happened to him.”
