Case of the Month - September 2011
One morning in August a local resident brought in a cat that had been in a road traffic accident. This little cat was on its side and panting so was given oxygen, pain relief and scanned for a microchip which luckily it had. We found the cat's name was Mollie and a phone number for Mollie's owner, who came down to see her. Mollie had some blood tests and had a fluoroscopic examination (video X-ray) which showed she had no damage to her diaphragm . Mollie was given an anaesthetic and x rays taken. Mollie was very lucky and had not broken any bones though there were some signs of possible internal damage. Mollie was put on a drip and observed for signs of delayed shock and concussion. Later on in the day Mollie was transferred to the night centre based at Alder Vet Centre Eaton Rd for observation as she was dull and not very responsive when examined. Though there were no obvious fractures to the skull we were still concerned about possible brain damage from trauma to to the head. Late in the evening Molly developed breathing problems so she had more chest x rays which showed air was leaking out of her lungs and being trapped in the chest and a lung had collapsed and she could not breathe properly. This air removed and she started to breath better. This shows the importance of Molly going to a night centre, if she had gone home these changes may not have been noticed as her owner would be asleep and Mollie may well have died.. The next day Mollie was still very dull and had developed a problems with her left front leg. Mollie was transferred to Chester Gates referral centre for a neurology and orthopaedic assessment. Mollie had a thing called an MRI (Magnetic resonance image) examination to see if there was some damage to the brain. Thankfully no brain damage was found but it was discovered that nerve and muscle damage had occurred and Mollie needed her left front leg amputated . The photograph is of Mollie 10 days after the leg has been removed. Mollie has been very lucky. A member of public had brought her in, she was micro chipped and insured so she could receive the best treatment possible immediately. Mollie's vet bills over a five day period came to approximately £4000 but her owner in the end will only be out of pocket £60.00 as Mollie was insured. |
 |