30 May 2022
Harlyn was suffering from a ruptured intestine and septic peritonitis, and had to undergo emergency surgery at Maven Vets in North Cheam, London Borough of Sutton.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Harlyn the Labrador retriever.
Vets undertook an eight-hour operation to save the life of a Labrador retriever suffering from a ruptured intestine and septic peritonitis.
Harlyn, 10, was rushed to Maven Vets in North Cheam, London Borough of Sutton, where Tom Bacon led the eight-hour life-saving operation. He said the full extent of Harlyn’s problems – which included a burst cancerous tumour – only became apparent during surgery.
Dr Bacon said: “We performed an exploratory laparotomy, which requires the support of multiple team members.
“After inspecting Harlyn’s entire abdomen, the source of the leak was found to be a small 1cm to 2cm tumour, affecting the wall of her small intestine, which had burst. Intricate surgery – an enterectomy – was needed to remove more than 15cm of the affected small intestine, with an end-to-end anastomosis used to reconnect the intestines.
“The discovery of the tumour meant larger surgical margins were needed to try to remove any remaining cancerous cells in her intestine.”
Dr Bacon added: “More than 7L of sterile fluid was then used to wash out all the bacteria and intestinal content from her abdomen to prevent a recurrence of her septic peritonitis.
“Harlyn then spent nine days receiving intensive nursing care, including daily blood tests, repeat ultrasounds, pain relief, IV antibiotics, IV fluids and anti-nausea medication.
“Thankfully, her surgical wound showed no evidence of breakdown, which is a risk with any intestinal surgery, and once she’d started eating by herself again, she was allowed home.”
