Tommy

Tommy first came to the practice following a suspected road traffic accident. Radiographs revealed he had multiple fractures to his left femur, ultimately resulting in his left hind leg having to be amputated. Usually cats manage quite well on three legs but, unfortunately for Tommy, he had some common complications after his surgery including wound break down and partial blockage of the urethra.

Because of theses issues, he spent a long time with us as an inpatient here in the hospital. His favorite spot in the hospital was right under the radiator in the kitchen, where he received lots of TLC from our nurses and vets and the occasional piece of chicken at lunch time!

Owner compliance was key in treating Tommy for his injuries and though his case was quite complicated, his owner wanted us to do everything we could for him, and so we did. His surgical wound needed to be bathed twice daily after the tissue began to break down. We used an antibacterial wash and intrasite gel, a hydrogel used to rehydrate narcrotic tissue. This took some time and patience from both Tommy and the nurses. He soon got used to the process however and enjoyed the routine of chin scratches during bath time. Eventually, the necrotic tissue began to fall off and his wound was restitched . The underlying issue of urethral narrowing was a more difficult one however. Throughout his time in the hospital the nurses would monitor his urination, which, unfortunately gradually worsened over time. Tommy was prescribed Hypovase for this issue, a drug used to increase patiency of the urethra. Unfortunately, as time went on Tommy’s urethra continued to block until one day he was struggling to pass urine. Previous attempts to try and pass a urinary catheter had failed as scar tissue had formed at the opening to the bladder and made this impossible. Unfortunately, Tommy could no longer battle this problem and so the difficult decision had to me made to put him to sleep.

I think we all fell in love with Tommy because of his loving nature. We all sympathised with what he was going through but he remained in such high spirits despite everything. He truly was a special cat and his presence will be missed here in the hospital.

Winston

Meet the very handsome Winston! He is a 6 year old crossbreed dog.  He was out for a walk with his owner late November last year and was unfortunately attacked by a German Shepherd dog in the park. He had severe bite wounds on both sides of his neck, his chest, abdomen and groin. They were quite extensive for such a small dog. His terrified owner brought him immediately to the after hours service of the pet emergency hospital for care. After examination, they decided they needed to hospitalise Winston for stabilisation, treatment of shock, to clip and clean his wounds and suture where necessary. They also needed to take xrays, as they were very concerned about the bite wound on his chest.

Chest xrays showed air in his chest but no obvious rib fractures. During his surgery, they found that his right chest had a large extensive wound in his chest wall between two ribs, the size and length of a finger! They were surprised that Winston had been so stable up to this point. Concerned for his safety, once this was repaired they left his other wounds to fix another day as they were not life threatening and they did not want to prolong his general anesthetic. They had to leave a chest drain in place to remove any excess air or fluid that may be trapped in the thoracic cavity. The remaining wounds were cleaned and flushed. After his surgery, he was kept on oxygen, fluid therapy and pain relief as well as constant monitoring. Due to the vulnerable nature of his injuries, Winston was directly transferred to the UCD hospital the following morning. As you can see from the photos his injuries were drastic and poor Winston was very sore and swollen from the attack.

The remaining wounds were fixed in UCD and he was allowed home to his worried owner after a few days stay in the hospital as they were now happy he was stable and doing well on his own. He was transferred back into the care of the Animal Hospital Tallaght. He was on a cocktail of drugs during that time, including antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, strong pain relief and antacid. He needed regular visits to evaluate his condition and assess his wound healing. There is always a risk in these cases due to extensive tissue trauma, that wounds can break down, infection can set in, or in Winstons case his chest wound was so severe, that he could have further breathing problems. Thankfully, his physical exams continued to show favourable improvement over the following weeks. He has been such a great patient and a very lucky little dog, that he has been rewarded January pet of the month. His owners should be very proud of him, as well as themselves for the dedication and love they showed him during this difficult time.

WELL DONE WINSTON!!!!