Spring in his step: Spaniel's leg saved in rarely performed operation

A BELOVED family dog’s leg has been saved after veterinary specialists performed a rare and complex operation.

Whiskey, a Springer Spaniel, was facing leg amputation surgery before the intervention by East of England Veterinary Specialists.

The five-year-old, who had become chronically lame and was unable to walk, had previously undergone fracture repair operations to both of his elbows.

But the repair eventually failed in his left elbow which resulted in the fractured bone fragments not healing together, leaving him with a completely non-functional elbow joint.

Whiskey’s owner Sam Cameron, from Peterborough, was faced with the agonising prospect of agreeing to a leg amputation for her dog due to his chronic pain, lameness and the unusual nature of his condition.

But in a last ditch bid to save his leg, her local vet contacted Martin Owen, a leading specialist orthopaedic veterinary surgeon from East of England, to see if he could help.

Whiskey was admitted to the Cambridgeshire practice where a detailed orthopaedic investigation and imaging confirmed a fracture repair failure and debility of the elbow, along with significant degenerative joint changes.

Whiskey is enjoying a new lease of life after undergoing surgery

To save the leg, Martin and the team opted for an ‘elbow arthrodesis’ - a rarely performed, complex and challenging operation which would fuse his joint back together and restore Whiskey with a working limb.The surgery - which lasted nearly six hours and involved a team of two surgeons and an anaesthetist - required careful planning and execution. The team first had to identify and protect the nerves in and around Whiskey’s elbow to avoid them from being damaged.

They then worked to reshape and smooth the fractured elbow components - removing scar tissue and excessive new bone formation from the failed fracture healing - so that the elbow would fit back together again.

Martin and the team could then proceed with reconstructing Whiskey’s elbow joint. Here two bone plates, along with multiple screws and pins, were inserted with precision to reconstruct and fuse the elbow joint, restoring a functional limb.

After the operation, Whiskey remained hospitalised for three days under strict observation of the dedicated East of England nursing team, who tended to his bandages and administered him pain relief.

During this time, the dog showed early and promising signs of recovery, gradually getting used to his supportive splint and beginning limited exercises.

Over 16 weeks, Whiskey went on to recover well and a supporting limb splint was used for a prolonged period of five weeks postoperatively because of his extremely lively nature.

This meant he could not be trusted to go easy on his reconstructed elbow joint leg but now, more than 10 months later, he is using his leg with its fused elbow very well, even when he is running off lead at speed.

Sam said: “With the previous break in his right foreleg, the priority needed to be to try and save his leg. Although this isn't an operation that is performed regularly, I had complete faith in Martin and the team to do the best for Whiskey.

A pre-operation CT image of Whiskey's left elbow

“It was going to be a long road ahead, but we were all committed to giving Whiskey the best chance and hoping the operation would be a success. 

“The day of the op came around and I dropped Whiskey off in the morning. It was such a long day waiting, but the team kept me updated throughout the day and Martin called me as soon as it was completed. 

“Whiskey took some time to adjust to the cast he had to wear and needed quite a bit of encouragement to get up and walking!

“Once he was given the all-clear, four months on, he absolutely loved being able to run around in the fields again. The changes in his behaviour on walks showed how comfortable he now was and how much of a success the operation had been.

“I honestly can't thank Martin and all the team at East of England enough. They saved Whiskey’s wonky legs and gave him his quality of life back.”

Martin, a highly experienced surgeon and the co-clinical director at East of England, said: "Whiskey’s treatment - what we call an elbow arthrodesis - is a somewhat challenging and rarely performed procedure.

“It can be a life-changing alternative to amputation, especially for active dogs. In Whiskey’s case we are so happy that the expertise and technical precision of the whole veterinary team meant that we were able to preserve this limb and, I hope, significantly enhance the quality of life Whiskey now has."

East of England Veterinary Specialists is run by Martin and another of the UK’s most experienced veterinary specialists in orthopaedic surgery, Mark Bush, as well as Francisco Silveira, an EBVS and RCVS specialist in small animal surgery.

Built originally as a private human hospital, East of England has been converted into a spacious veterinary clinic that offers patients specialist-led treatment in every aspect of orthopaedics.