Frank.Pet Surgeons

Grace came in today for her first check up after a total hip replacement. Lovely to see her doing well!

Christmas has arrived in our hospital!

Happy 1st Birthday Doris!
Doris was referred to us for assessment of lameness in her right leg. X-rays taken by her own vet suggested that she was suffering from avascular necrosis of the right hip, a condition where lack of blood supply causes the bone to die and break down. When we examined her, she was quite lame, and on occasion, would bear no weight at all on her right hind leg. She was in extreme pain when we flexed and extended her leg. Our x-rays revealed that the pr...oblem was getting worse, and her owners were keen to do their best for her, so she was scheduled for a total hip replacement. Her op went well, and she was discharged into the care of her owners and vet, with strict instructions for very short lead exercise only for the next four weeks.
The prognosis after this operation is excellent and we expected that Doris would return to near normal levels of exercise without persisting discomfort, although there is always a chance that further surgery may be needed.
4 weeks after her right total hip replacement, we were delighted to see Doris for a check-up which showed good progress. She was walking well with a near normal range of movement in her right hip, and no pain. We advised that her exercise was gradually increased over the following two months and asked to see her again in two months. Doris returned to us again for the follow up x-rays under anaesthesia, which revealed the implants to be in place and no complications. She can now return to full exercise – what a great birthday present for an active young dog! We don’t need to see her again, but look forward to hearing how she’s doing.
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We are hiring! If you're a registered veterinary nurse (RVN) and are looking for a great new job, we'd love to hear from you. Full details here https://jobs.vettimes.co.uk/…/veterinar y-nurses-hunslet-le…/

We were delighted to receive this photo of Bailey looking so well after his surgery earlier this year https://www.facebook.com/media/set/…

Clive (and his teddy!) came back today for his 5 week follow up appt after spinal surgery. He is doing really well, and can start to increase his exercise over the next 6 weeks. All being well, we don't need to see him back again. All our patients are very special, but Clive is a vitally important part of owner Michelle's life. As well as being a beloved pet, he is also a medical alert assistance dog

6 month old Border Collie Rufus was referred to us to look into his urinary incontinence. He was very bright and happy when he came into hospital, but rather dribbly! He underwent a CT scan, which revealed ectopic ureters (the tubes which carry urine from his kidneys didn’t empty into his bladder properly). He was admitted for surgery to correct this, which went very well, and returned home a couple of days later. We recently had a lovely update from his owners, who are delighted with his progress. The operation was a complete success – he no longer dribbles, and is a normal, happy, healthy puppy, just like his sister Bramble, who was also very pleased to get her brother back! We love this photo of Rufus using Bramble as a pillow!

We are really proud of our top of the range imaging equipment. As it's World Radiology Day today, we thought we'd share a few of the great images we've taken recently.

4 year old George, back for his 5 week check up after hemilaminectomy (spinal) surgery.

We recently admitted a beautiful Bavarian Mountain Hound, Gretel to the hospital, to assess her after kennel partitions fell on her, leaving her paralysed and in pain. A CT of her spine revealed fracture to a growth plate of her last thoracic vertebrae – and due to our concerns about her inability to move, we operated straight away to stabilise the fracture and spinal instability, using String of Pearls implants and screws. The surgery went well, and x-rays showed that the fr...acture had been successfully stabilised. Gretel spent a few days recovering in our hospital, before going home.
Five weeks post-surgery, she came back to the hospital for her check-up. We were pleased with her progress so far, although, as expected with an injury this serious, it will take a long time for her to recover fully, and she may well always have a few mild neurological symptoms. No-one told Gretel that she might stay a bit wobbly, and a video sent to us by her owners recently shows that she thinks she’s absolutely fine!
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Love it when a patient matches our branding!
Rocky came into the hospital with suspected septic peritonitis, after undergoing surgery to remove foreign objects from his intestines (a common Labrador thing!) Unfortunately, his internal wounds started to break down, and further surgery to resolve this were unsuccessful, so he was referred to us. When he came into the hospital, Rocky was quiet and very unhappy, with a distended abdomen. Once we had stabilised his condition, he ...went into surgery, where we removed 2 litres of pus from his abdomen, and almost one metre of damaged intestine. After his surgery, Rocky spent some time recovering in hospital, before being discharged into the care of his own vet, with a course of antibiotics. He is recovering nicely, with a good appetite, and all being well, we don’t expect to see him again. The removal of such a long portion of his intestine can lead to longer term problems, so we’ve recommended that his owners are careful to feed him an easily digestible specialist food. Hopefully Rocky has learnt not to eat things he shouldn’t!
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So delighted to get this! Many thanks to anyone who nominated us!

Remember Costa, who came in for surgery on his deformed front legs? Just look at him now!

Happy National Cat Day - from some of our feline friends and patients

Marnie was referred to us for assessment of her chronic right pelvic limb lameness which was suspected to be due to cranial cruciate ligament disease.
On examination in our hospital, she was 6/10 lame with significant muscle atrophy, and showed a pain response to extension of her right hip. A CT scan confirmed degenerative changes in both hips, particularly the right. The CT scan was submitted to VetCT for a second opinion from an imaging specialist, which confirmed our diag...nosis of osteoarthritis. We also took synovial fluid from her right hip, to test for bacteria, which came back negative. Marnie’s owners opted to go ahead with surgery, as she was getting progressively lamer, despite pain relief, and she was admitted to the hospital shortly afterwards for a right total hip replacement. This surgery has an excellent prognosis, and we expected her to have near normal function and complete pain control, but it is not without complications, so we made the owners aware that there may be a requirement for revision surgery.
Her surgery went well – we used a cementless Biological Fixation system, which closely replicates the animals own hip joint. Wound closure was routine, and post-operative radiographs revealed good implant positioning, so we were optimistic that Marnie would return to near normal levels of exercise without persisting discomfort.
She returned to frank. Pet Surgeons, four weeks after her surgery, and was doing well, with near normal range of movement in her right hip and minimal pain. We advised that her on-lead exercise was very gradually increased over the following eight weeks, and asked to see her again for follow up X-rays at that point.
12 weeks post-surgery, Marnie came back in and we were delighted with her progress. She was walking well on the limb with near normal range of movement and no pain. She did however, have mild pain on extension of the left hip. Follow up X-rays revealed the implants to be in place and no complications. We therefore advised that Marnie's exercise was returned to normal over the next four weeks, and do not plan to see her again unless there are any complications. When we spoke with Marnie’s owner this week we were so pleased to hear that she is continuing to do well and has been enjoying walks with their other dogs.
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Izzy was referred to us for assessment and treatment of a large open wound across her chest that extended to both elbows. The wounds were treated by her own vet, but were proving troublesome, so Izzy came to us for open wound management until definitive surgery could be performed. After six days, she underwent surgery to clean up and reconstruct the main wound, whilst the smaller wound on her flank and another on her elbow were left to heal by themselves. Izzy was discharge...d into the care of her own vet a further two days later, with instructions for very short lead exercise and continued antibiotics and pain relief, with suture removal 14 days post-surgery. Izzy returned to frank. Pet Surgeons. three weeks after surgery at which time she had almost completely healed. We spoke to the owners 8 weeks after surgery and were delighted to hear that Izzy is doing really well and enjoying being back out running with their other dog.
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Meet The Team - Sian
Sian is a highly experienced senior surgical nurse, who had lots of previous experience in first opinion, referral and Out of Hours practice, and with exotic patients, before she joined us. Her extensive theatre experience, and work/study ethic (She had already taken advantage of opportunities to develop her skills and knowledge by studying for an Advanced Diploma) made her a perfect fit for our team. The fPS ethos makes her really proud to work here, an...d she's also looking forward to grabbing the numerous opportunities to further develop her skills in her time here. Sian is very interested in anaesthesia, and also finds it really satisfying to take the perfect radiograph! Sian has a cat and a ferret at home, and enjoys travelling, working on her house, garden and campervans, and going to gigs. In 5 years’ time, she plans to have achieved further anaesthesia qualifications, and to have achieved a 100% success rate in her quest to take perfect radiographs!
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Meet The Team: Hollie
Hollie worked in hospitality and catering as assistant manager before she realised that working with animals was where her heart lay. Prior to joining us, she trained at Calder Vets referral centre, before becoming head veterinary nurse at one of their first opinion branch practices. She really enjoyed her roles there, and feels that her previous experience in orthopaedic surgery, inpatient hospitalisation and one on one patient care was a big plus when... it came to working for frank. She also gained a lot of “people” experience, and enjoys reassuring and comforting owners, as well as their pets.
Hollie's favourite part of the job is being a part of the recovery of patients, and reuniting them with their owners again after surgery / hospitalisation. Her interest in referral work, especially radiography, led her to frank. and she really enjoys the daily challenges of life in a busy referral hospital. She thinks that the gold standard service, and clear accessible fixed pricing system sets fPS apart and she's proud to be a part of it.
In her spare time, she enjoys riding her horse Montana, going to gym classes and spending time with her nieces and nephews.
Over the next 5 years, Hollie sees herself gaining a qualification in advanced veterinary nursing, and continuing to learn and develop her skills in radiography and anaesthesia
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