Month: July 2023

Tucker had been unwell at home and so his Mum, who is a vet at another local clinic, got to work in trying to find the cause; soon discovering that he had a Pleural Effusion.

This is when fluid (effusion) accumulates in the tissue lining the area between the lungs and the chest (pleura). This can make it difficult for the patient to breathe. Tucker was then referred to our Emergency and Critical Care department for further work up and intensive nursing care.

When our ECC team drained the fluid from Tucker’s chest, it was pus meaning that Tucker had a pyothorax. A CT scan was performed of Tucker’s chest to look for any obvious abnormalities or foreign material. Bilateral chest drains were placed while he was under anaesthetic so that we could regularly drain his chest to keep him comfortable and able to breathe well. This kept Tucker stable over the weekend until Monday when he was internally transferred to our surgery and anaesthesia team for a Median Sternotomy.

A sternotomy is when the chest is opened via the sternum to allow the surgeon to access both sides of the thorax. This allowed our surgeons to fully inspect the chest and thoroughly lavage (flush) it to remove the inflammatory fluid. Post-operatively, Tucker was recovered in our intensive care unit where he received 24/7 care and monitoring.

He made an excellent recovery and, in true Labrador sense, started eating again shortly after his surgery. Once he no longer required intensive 24/7 care, Tucker was able to go home to his very grateful and loving family!

Fern visited her regular vet for a general health check-up where they discovered that she had an unusual heart murmur that needed some further investigating. She then visited a cardiologist who made the diagnosis of Patent Ductus Arteriosus (or PDA); a heart defect where a shunt between the aorta and pulmonary artery hadn’t closed at birth, leading to abnormal blood flowing from the aorta into the pulmonary artery. This in turn leads to overloading of the left side of the heart, causing it to enlarge, and furthermore leads to congestive heart failure.

Fern was then referred to Dr Brenton and our referral surgical team here at JCU Vet where we performed heart surgery, dissecting around the vessel and ligating, or tying, it with silk suture.

Her recovery was very quick, returning to her happy, loveable self and going home with her parents 24 hours after the surgery was completed. Fern has a fantastic prognosis and should now lead a normal life!

Fern was a wonderful dog to have in clinic and an incredibly interesting case for our surgery team, and therefore, is Surgery’s Pet of the Week!

Tahi is a gorgeous French Bulldog who is well known and loved at JCU Vet, but especially amongst the Medicine team. Given that this week we celebrated his 4th birthday, it’s the perfect opportunity to feature him as our ‘Pet of the Week’!

Tahi presented at JCU at the age of 2 with neurological symptoms. He was circling, pacing, staring into corners, was ataxic (not coordinated) and depressed.

Little Tahi had a series of diagnostic tests, some of which included a CT, a CSF tap (analysis of his cerebrospinal fluid) and blood tests. He was then diagnosed with Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO).

MUO is an inflammatory disease of the Central nervous system, which in dogs, normally, is an “auto-immune” disease.

Signs may vary but include:

Ataxia (lack of coordination)

Vision problems

Depressed attitude

Head tilt

Circling

Seizures

Treatment is long term, and often for life.

Part of Tahi’s treatment requires him to visit our JCU Medicine team twice a month for his injectable medication and for some (vital) cuddles with the team!

He is a brave little boy who has been a real trooper with his frequent hospital visits, and since the start of his treatment, has improved by leaps and bounds!

Happy Birthday Tahi, from all of us here at JCU Vet!