A much-loved dog, who fractured her neck and was at risk of dying, has been saved by specialist vets at a local animal hospital who conducted pioneering spinal surgery.
Poppy, a four-year-old Labrador, had been running into a field with high grass when she suddenly yelped and collapsed on the floor – unable to move and unconscious.
Owner Emma Flanagan, who lives in Manchester, immediately rushed her to her local veterinary practice where she was told that Poppy’s condition was grave.
They advised that Poppy needed to be taken to Chestergates Veterinary Hospital in Chester to see if its leading team of veterinary neurologists may be able to help. So Poppy was directly transported on immobilisation stretcher.
Upon admission and neurological examination, Poppy was quickly stabilised, then taken for MRI and CT scans of her cervical spinal cord to evaluate the extent of her injuries.
Here the team uncovered that the trauma of the accident had badly fractured Poppy’s first vertebrae and misaligned the first two vertebrae at the top of her spine. The trauma was also causing compression on her spinal cord and the bottom-most part of her brain. In addition it was resulting in severe bleeding within the brain tissue itself. This damage was causing loss of function in all four of her limbs, serious breathing difficulties, and pain.
The team knew they urgently needed to conduct spinal surgery to fix the fracture in Poppy’s neck, as without it she would be at risk of dying suddenly.
Surgery took a number of hours, involving the expertise of neurologists, orthopaedics, anaesthetists, and specialist referral nurses – for continuous monitoring and surgical assistance. A combination of mechanical locking plate system, screws and bone cement were carefully used – with great precision – to realign and stabilise Poppy’s fracture. She was then hospitalised in high dependency unit for several days.
Incredibly, only seven weeks after her successful surgery and physiotherapy, Poppy was able to start walking again unassisted. Two of months on, she is now walking comfortably without any discomfort and good quality of life.
Simone Spinillo, Specialist in Veterinary Neurology who led the veterinary team, said: “The severity of Poppy’s spinal injury and the associated neurological damage in this case required meticulous planning and precision during the procedure. Watching her regain her ability to walk and seeing her back with her family is incredibly rewarding and highlights the astonishing resilience of these animals.”
Owner Emma said: “When Poppy was injured our world just stopped. We got help from other dog walkers to get Poppy to a local emergency vet who contacted ChesterGates as it was obvious Poppy has suffered a catastrophic injury and needed neurology experts.
“We rushed Poppy to Chester from Manchester and were met at the door by Simone who was expecting us. From the moment Simone helped us get Poppy into ChesterGates we knew she was in safe hands. Simone explained exactly what he thought was wrong after examining Poppy and what investigations were needed. It was obviously a very stressful time but he was very patient and took the time to explain through everything and answer our questions. He showed a great deal of care towards Poppy who was very distressed, ensuring that she was made comfortable.
“The team who operated on Poppy the next day were incredible, thinking outside the box to manage a very difficult and lengthy procedure. Poppy then spent another 10 days recovering and it was touch and go whether she would make it home due to the severity of injuries and the complications.
“We weren’t able to visit Poppy often as she became too distressed when we left but we were updated on how she was doing multiple times a day and could ring at any point we had questions. They also didn’t throw us out of the car park which we sat in for days waiting to see if she would make it as we couldn’t bear to be so far away from her in Manchester.
“I know that all the staff at ChesterGates gave everything for Poppy’s recovery, from the incredible surgeons and anaesthetist, to the nurses who cared for her 24 hours a day and sat with her when she was anxious, to the physio who helped her gain movement back in her legs, the reception staff who dealt empathetically with us – and every staff member who contributed to Poppy’s recovery with a cuddle as I know there were lots!”
