This is a bit of a long read today but it's well worth it so grab a cuppa and settle down...We would like to showcase and celebrate the courage and bravery shown by our patients in the face of serious illness or surgery and we are starting with Hunter, a gorgeous Malinois.....
Hunter came in to see us feeling very unwell. He had a high temperature and was having difficulty breathing. He was very fed up and not himself at all. He didn’t want to move and looked as if he might be having neck pain. We took some blood and admitted him the following day for pain relief and some IV fluids and took some x rays of his chest. It soon became clear that Hunter was in a bit of trouble as his x ray was showing a pneumothorax. This is basically a collection of air in the space around the lungs that shouldn’t be there. This obviously causes difficulty breathing and is very dangerous if untreated. There are several reasons why this might occur but sometimes it just happens spontaneously. The appearance of neck pain can be a tell tale sign if seen with other symptoms as dogs will often extend their neck as if in pain in an attempt to breathe more easily. We carried out a thoracocentesis which means we removed some of the air around the space where the lungs sit and this provided immediate relief but Hunter was not out of the woods and was referred to hospital for life saving surgery. It was discovered that he had a severe pneumonia which had caused his pneumothorax and subsequently he had part of his lung removed.
Hunter has been very brave and we are delighted to report he continues to recover well. We thought he deserved a little recognition for being such a good patient and a lovely boy.
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