Vets go back to school

You never stop learning - that's what our vets said today after taking part in an advanced ultrasound  workshop at the practice. Andrew Parry, a specialist in imaging from Willows Referrals, put them through their paces learning new techniques using the practice ultrasound machine.
Ultrasound scans are painless and safe. They use sound waves to create images of organs and stuctures inside your body. As it is sound waves and not radiation, it has not been found to cause any problems or complications.
Ultrasound can be used to detect abnormalities in internal organs, such as the liver, gallbladder and bowels.
All clinical staff having received updates in their radiography knowledge a few months ago, following installation of our new digital xray suite, we are going from strength to strength.      

Our fourth Vet Idol entrant to reach the final

Fraya, a beautiful 3 year old female cat, was brought into Broad Lane Vets one Friday night in November last year. She was collapsed and bleeding heavily from her mouth and eye, following a suspected road traffic accident. She was treated for shock and stabilised on an intravenous drip overnight. The folowing day xray investigation revealed severe head trauma. She had suffered a blow of quite some force, resulting in multiple jaw fractures, huge swelling of her tongue, and bruising to her eye. She was very lucky to have survived. O ne jaw fracture was surgically repaired, but the other injuries were more complex, and so she was moved to an Orthopaedic Referral Centre for specialist treatment. Due to her extensive facial injuries Fraya required a feeding tube to be inserted directly into her stomach. This allowed any food given to bypass her mouth, allowing her tongue and jaw time to heal. She was hospitalised for several days, and once home her owners had to learn how to feed her through this tube. She was cared for this way for nearly 2 months. Fraya is still under regular veterinary treatment but she had her stomach tube removed recently and her
injuries are now healing. She is certainly a much happier lady than when she came into us that cold dark Autumn night, and thanks to her owners' dedication she is well on the road to recovery.    

Bessie is the third Broad Lane Vets pet to reach the Vet Idol Final

Enjoying her regular walk in December Bessie stopped suddenly, and closed her eye. Her horrified owner investigated to find a stick poking out of her eye! Arriving at our emergency vets Bessie was in severe pain, but still, as always, wagging her tail. Bessie was rushed into theatre and rapidly anaesthetised. The stick was carefully removed along with multiple fragments of stick.

A further stick was stuck across the eye's cornea itself requiring removal.
Bessie had to return to the surgery daily for further care as the eye is such a delicate organ. Antibiotics, pain killers and eye drops were given several times a day by her worried owners. Still very sore we slowly saw her improve. A further operation was required to tidy up her damaged eye. Amazingly two weeks later she came in still wagging her tail, but this time with two big brown eyes wide open.   
   

Our second Vet Idol Finalist

Monty is the second pet to reach the Coventry Telegraph Vet Idol Final. Monty is a cheeky little much-loved working cocker spaniel. Although only 3 years old, he has spent rather a lot of time at Broad Lane Vets. We first met him when he was only 6 months old, after he was attacked by 3 dogs, when out on a family walk. He presented collapsed with multiple wounds on his hindlegs and chest. After intensive care, an operation and an overnight stay he was well enough to go home. Then he returned having eaten the first of many things he shouldn't, which necessitated x-rays and medical treatment. He continued to find pretty much anything that didn't move appetising - chip shop wrappers, mobile phones and pin cushions were amongst his favourites. This had led to him undergoing 3 more investigations at Broad Lane Vets, all related to eating non-food objects.  He has also needed treatment after stealing a shoe and injuring his eye in an ownership tug of war. In amongst all of this it had become apparent Monty's vital bits had not properly developed, and so he underwent an operation to remove a testicle from his abdomen, to prevent it turning cancerous. Despite his any visits, Monty doesn't seem to hold a grudge. And after every stay with us he certainly makes the most of it; his "parents" tell us he has to lie between them on the sofa, and refuses food unless hanfed - seems like Monty has us all wrapped around his little paw.