A Bichon Frise has been miraculously saved after suffering the "worst trauma wounds" a vet had ever seen following a dog attack.
Six-year-old Buddy was rushed to MyVet in Maynooth and was a "bloody mess" with "gaping open wounds" when he arrived. Vet Violet Doherty was the first to treat Buddy and admitted she was taken aback by his injuries, describing them as the "worst traumatic wounds" she had seen in her four-year career.
"When he arrived, he was in shock and respiratory distress," she said. "Both sides of his chest had large traumatic bite wounds with lung tissue visibly herniating out each time he panted.
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“He was given strong pain relief on arrival and we immediately commenced emergency management of shock. He was anaesthetised and his chest wall was closed. A temporary chest drain was placed and 30mls of blood and 100mls of air were removed with the blood carefully collected and stored in case Buddy required an autoblood transfusion later.
“A lateral chest X-ray and A-Fast scan revealed a fractured sternum, subcutaneous emphysema and an ongoing pneumothorax (collapsed lung)."
Violet said they suspected Buddy has a ruptured lung lobe so they transferred him to their colleagues at MyVet Lucan while being ventilated on an ambu-bag. At Lucan, Ciaran Jones, a specialist in small animal surgery, and surgical intern Pietro Sabbatini took charge of trying to save Buddy.
Ciaran said: "Surgical repairs of the thoracic wounds and fractured sternum were challenging due to the severity of the injury. There was significant damage to the left chest wall and the lung was visible once Buddy’s skin was retracted. His fractured sternum was repaired using a very strong suture to hold the bone together.
“We then placed a 14-gauge chest tube, debrided the soft tissues and closed the thoracotomy using a strong absorbable suture material. We placed a Jackson Pratt drain to clear any excess fluid from the body and closed his wounds primarily.
“The right chest wounds were similar to the left. We again debrided the soft tissues and placed a 12-gauge chest tube and a urinary catheter.
“Both chest drains and the U catheter were removed within 48 hours post-surgery with Buddy on a Methadone CRI (Constant Rate Infusions) for the first 48 hours and was then given a buprenorphine IV injection." Ciaran explained that they administered Baytril after surgery and Buddy was kept on maintenance fluids for the first four days and placed on rheumocam, paracetamol, Marbofloxacin tablets on his discharge.
"It all contributed to very successful outcome and Buddy recovered well post-operatively and is now happily back a home," Ciaran said.
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