The seriously injured working dog, called Gin, was referred to us as an emergency case in need of urgent spinal surgery.
Gin’s X-rays showed a displaced fracture-luxation of the seventh lumbar vertebra – a spinal fracture just in front of her pelvis.
This was an extremely serious injury as there is a high risk of irreversible spinal cord damage and nerve injury. She required urgent surgery to stabilise her spinal injury, which involved reducing the misaligned spine and immobilising the vertebra in the correct position while the bones healed.
Gin’s surgery was a team effort with Joe, a European diplomate in small animal surgery, joined by Graham Hayes, an RCVS-recognised specialist and European diplomate in small animal surgery.
First we restored the normal alignment to her spine and then we needed to fix the vertebrae in place using eight screws and bone cement. Great care was taken to place the screws precisely in order to avoid further damage to the spinal cord and spinal nerves.
The operation was a challenging and intricate procedure but went very well and Gin was kept in the hospital for four days after surgery for monitoring and ongoing pain relief and management.
Kentdale’s physiotherapist Emma Woof started Gin’s rehabilitation the day after surgery, and has been seeing her regularly since her discharge.
Emma said: “Over the weeks, Gin gradually got her strength back and learned how to walk again. At her six week post-op check with Joe, X-rays showed all the screws and bone cement were unchanged and the fractured vertebra was healing as expected. At this point she was allowed to exercise more and I increased her physiotherapy to address the muscle loss that inevitably develops in the post-operative period. “
Gin’s owners have looked after her extremely well and nursed her through this severe injury. Like most spaniels, Gin is a highly-motivated little dog and was keen to regain her mobility.
We are all delighted with her progress and hope she will return to running off the lead again soon.
Dave Rhodes said: “Gin had been run over by a car and was badly hurt so I was amazed how confident Joe was when he said he could fix her. I was very happy he thought she had a good prognosis even though she needed spinal surgery. Joe was right absolutely too. All the team at the hospital were amazing. Gin is doing so well that I hope to return her to work this season so I’d definitely recommend Kentdale to other pet owners, in fact I’ve already have recommended them to many people.”
